After long negotiations, Council Chairman Charles Michel of the EU summit announced this morning that the decision has been made to significantly tighten the climate target for 2030. The Greenhouse gas emissions are to drop by at least 55 percent below the 1990 level.
German chancellor Angela Merkel as well as French President Emmanuel Macron had promoted the new 55 percent target at the summit. To help implement the Paris climate agreement stipulating that global warming should be stopped at below two degrees Celsius, if possible, even at 1.5 degrees, the 27 EU heads of state and government had discussed all night to achieve more ambitious climate protection targets until 2030.
To reach the overall goal of a climate neutral EU by 2050, i.e. the avoidance or storage of all greenhouse gases there is a variety of measures that must be undertaken such as a quick move away from coal, oil and gas, a switch to green electricity and vehicles without emissions, and the renovation of millions of houses. It goes without saying that for this massive change, billions in investments are required.
The provision of financial support to the member states could go via a modernization fund, which will be fed from income from emissions trading, but also the Corona development fund, at least 30 percent of which is to be used to implement the climate goals. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CO₂ emissions have been reduced by seven percent, a total of 2.4 billion tons.