The European Commission has presented a plan aiming to slash net greenhouse gas pollution in the EU by 90 percent by 2040, compared to 1990 levels, with a focus on carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels and gases from agriculture and land use.
Market officials have described the plan’s goal of coming close to climate neutrality ten years before 2050 as highly ambitious.
The 2040 targets are a first step for energy legislation proposals concerning buildings, transport, alternative green fuels, industry and renewables.
Extending energy legislation beyond 2030 promises to serve as a major catalyst for development of technologies and investments.
The European Commission’s proposals, announced ahead of elections in June, will activate a new energy policy cycle, as was the case, years ago, when 2030 targets were set, triggering spectacular growth in the renewable energy, energy saving and electromobility sectors.
The new 2040 targets will be even more challenging as the 90 percent greenhouse gas reduction target will require tremendous change in the energy, agriculture and land-use domains, amongst others.
The European Commission plan’s proposals are based on extremely detailed simulation of the respective energy systems of EU member states and projections made through exclusive usage of PRIMES, a mathematical model developed at the National Technical University of Athens for all of Europe – it has been consistently applied since 1995 for all EU energy policy proposals – and studies conducted by the Athens-based E3 Modelling scientific team for energy and transportation.