The EU's much vaunted Green Deal which was recently rubbished by Greta Thunberg, is a €100bn "just transition mechanism" to help countries that are still heavily dependent on fossil fuels and carbon-intensive processes to move to renewable energy sources. It proposes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 50% of 1990 levels [or lower] by 2030, instead of the current target of 60%. The Commission says that this will set the EU on "an irreversible path to climate neutrality" by 2050. Within it, there's a plan to promote a more circular economy to eliminate waste through design. This would result in more sustainable products as well as a strategy to improve the sustainability of food production and distribution.
The details, such as they are, can be found here on the Commission's website.
Thanks to David Oldroyd [*], who lives in Poland, for alerting me to this comment from Barbara Mariani, Policy Manager for Climate and Energy of the European Environmental Bureau (EEB):
“Today’s climate law is another serious missed opportunity. Climate action enjoys incredibly strong support among the public, with 92% of EU citizens wanting their governments to set more ambitious targets. By delaying action on increasing the EU’s 2030 climate targets and outlining concrete policy measures, Europe’s ‘man on the moon moment’ looks a lot more like ‘man stuck in traffic’. It’s essential that the European Parliament and member states drive higher ambition in this law to ensure that Europe embraces its responsibilities.”
Respond