Brussels – At the request of the European Council and European Parliament, the European Commission is to devise a long-term climate plan for net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, to be published before the COP24 climate talks, to be held in December.
The plan will not set binding targets, or contain any legislative proposals, but will set milestones in different policy areas and highlight where focused action is needed. In particular, the plan will put more emphasis on land use and CO2 absorption practices than previous European climate strategies.
“We should not forget that a low-carbon economy will need to focus on how land is used – not only to grow our food, land to produce feedstock and biomaterials, but also to produce climate neutral bioenergy and absorb CO2,” explained Miguel Arias Cañete, the European Commissioner for Climate and Energy.
Whilst low-carbon technologies are already supported by the 2030 energy and climate framework, the plan will present an outline of the expected post-2030 developments. It will then also focus on the key sectors of buildings, transport and mobility, industrial production and the provision of services, waste, agriculture and land-use, as well as the use of natural resources.
In order to collect views from the public and from relevant stakeholders, a consultation has been opened, which will close on 9 October.
For more information, see speeches from Commissioner Cañete and Šef?ovi? introducing the strategy.
Policy