There is no room for complacency in the EU efforts to reach net zero emissions, the European Commission's climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said, commenting on a new report indicating that the EU is only "partially" on track to achieve 2030 and longer-term environmental and climate goals.
"It's clear once more that we need to step up our efforts to reach net-zero emissions," Hoekstra said, commenting on a progress report by the European Environment Agency (EEA), albeit pointing to some good progress in cutting emissions and promoting green finance.
While there are positives surrounding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions, air quality and green finance, the bloc needs to reverse declining biodiversity and ecosystems, the EEA said. The report judges the EU to be "likely" on track towards its 2030 target to cut GHG emissions by 55pc compared with 1990 levels. But the bloc is "off track" in increasing net GHG removals by carbon sinks from land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) to 310mn t of CO2 equivalent by 2030.
Climate-related economic losses, energy consumption, fossil fuel subsidies and raw material consumption are other indicators that are "likely off track". Similarly, the EU is "likely off track" to achieve at least a 42.5pc share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption by 2030.
The EEA report further points to the need for systemic change in food, energy and mobility systems to ensure well-being for all within planetary boundaries. The EEA also called for a taxation shift from labour to more polluting and resource-heavy activities. And the bloc should phase out environmentally harmful subsidies, boost sustainable production and consumption patterns, as well as cut "excessive" use of materials and energy.
The European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change (ESABCC) has separately issued policy recommendations including a call for separate carbon removal and carbon reduction targets, accelerating innovation and strengthening climate governance. The ESABCC warned of an ongoing decline in the EU's carbon sink.
