Brussels to argue for 30% CO2 reduction target

03 May 2010

The economic slump has cut the cost of meeting the EU’s current 2020 emission reduction target by nearly a third, making a move to a 30% cut affordable, according to a draft European Commission communication seen by EurActiv.

The cost of cutting emissions by 20% by 2020 has dropped by some €22bn per year from what was estimated in 2008, when climate and energy legislation to reach the target was agreed, the document notes.

It now stands at €48bn per year in 2020, compared to an estimate of €70bn three years ago.

The European Commission is calling for increased ambition in EU climate legislation, without which it warns that Europe risks losing out to the US and China in the race for green jobs.

The Commission notes that the potential of the EU’s flagship climate instrument, the emissions trading scheme (EU ETS), to spur low-carbon investment has been “severely affected for a long time”. It argues that to deliver an allowance price of €30 per tonne of CO2 as originally planned would require a move to 30%.

Lees hele artikel -> euractiv.com