European Union climate policies need to become more ambitious as the bloc looks to hit its net-zero emissions goal for 2050. But a gap between what is agreed on paper and deployed in the real world means a risk of having to do more than one energy transition. Lawmakers are setting up an EU-wide advisory board to bridge that void
A European advisory climate council would help link today’s policies with mid-century emissions reduction goals
NATIONAL LESSONS Similar climate committees are having a growing impact on national governments decarbonisation pathways
COMPLEX ISSUES A scientific advisory board will be able to understand the complex environmental policies and fine-tune them
KEY QUOTE The policies to reach the short-run targets should be designed with the long-run ambition in mind
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Better methodologies for allocating responsibility for carbon emissions would spark greater effort from underperformers
Clear and ambitious climate and energy plans are essential to reduce emissions and provide certainty for business, says Imke Lübbeke, Head of Climate and Energy at the WWF’s European Policy Office
Border carbon adjustments (BCAs) are technically difficult to design and politically challenging to implement. If BCAs are going to succeed, the European Union (EU) will need to engage trade partners from the start, says E3G’s Johanna Lehne
“Electrification is the most efficient way of decarbonising”
EU leaders need to get serious about electrification if Europe is to decarbonise in line with the commitments of the Paris climate agreement and bring about economic benefits for consumers, say signatories of The Electrification Alliance, launched in Brussels this week
Europe is considering taking the bold step of introducing a border carbon adjustment tariff on goods imported from regions where carbon pricing is lacking, placing trade right in the middle of its climate ambitions