Targeting Change: The EU's 2040 Climate Target
Posted on December, 17 2024
On 6 February 2024, the European Commission published a communication proposing a 90% net greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) reduction for 2040. However, given the importance of the climate crisis, this figure is not ambitious enough.
The year 2024 is set to be the hottest on record, with global sea levels rising by 21 cm since 1900. From 2011 to 2020, global temperatures were already 1.09°C above pre-industrial levels, and Europe saw a rise of over 2°C from 2013 to 2022. Current policies could lead to a 3.1°C global temperature increase, and between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause around 250,000 additional deaths annually. These figures underscore the urgent need for stronger climate action addressed in this position paper.
The EU should commit to the following:
The EU should commit to the following:
- Reach economy-wide climate neutrality (zero net emissions) by 2040, and negative net emissions thereafter. This should consist in gross emissions reductions in non-LULUCF sectors of at least 92%.
- Set a separate and significantly higher LULUCF target consistent with meeting the 2040 climate neutrality target, to be met through the rapid expansion of nature protection and restoration on land and at sea, and sustainable agricultural and forestry practices. Nature-based removals must be prioritised and scaled-up with due consideration of their biodiversity potential.
- If an EU-wide separate target for permanent removals is set, it should only be established following a rigorous impact assessment of their sustainable scale-up, including potential impacts on ecosystems and people. Further, their contribution to the overall EU climate neutrality target should be limited to the level of residual emissions at the time, to avoid the risk of emission reduction deterrence.
- Increase the EU’s 2030 net emissions reduction target from at least 55% net to at least 65% gross, with all sectors contributing, and require targets to be set for 2035 onwards in line with the science. Most of the GHG emissions reduction after 2030 should happen in the first half of the decade, before 2035.
- Prioritise and protect nature, implement and enforce existing environmental and biodiversity legislation, and adopt a new climate adaptation framework prioritising nature-based solutions. Nature is our best ally. It can help us reduce rising temperatures while decreasing GHG emissions and storing increased levels of carbon; protect Europeans against climate hazards such as more intense and frequent droughts, heatwaves, floods and fires; and build resilience in our ecosystems.
- Halve EU energy consumption by 2040 compared to 2015 levels, since the full decarbonisation of the European economy will not be possible at the current level of energy consumption.
- End the era of fossil fuels, by phasing out coal by 2030, fossil gas by 2035 and oil by 2040, to reach a 100 % renewable energy supply by that date.
- Provide a strong EU just transition framework to ensure a fair, well-managed and orderly transition and avoid increasing inequalities. This includes support to the most vulnerable households and workers plus targeted territorial assistance.
- Provide significantly increased additional support through international climate finance to enable mitigation outside the EU, in order to make up for the EU’s responsibility for historical emissions. The amount of this support should be calculated by the European Commission, based on the Civil Society Equity Review Report, so as climate finance is commensurate with the amount by which the EU’s fair share exceeds even the most ambitious domestic mitigation.
