The European Union must have a new climate target so that by 2040 the EU countries have reduced the emission of greenhouse gases by 90 per cent. compared to 1990. This is recommended by the European Commission, which today published an announcement on how, via a slightly more ambitious 2040 target, the EU countries also have a realistic path to becoming a climate-neutral continent in 2050.

Director of the Green Transition Denmark, Bjarke Møller, praises the Commission for the initiative:
"In a time of many fossil fuel setbacks and climate crisis, it is incredibly positive that the Commission under the leadership of Ursula von der Leyen plays out with a 90 per cent. reduction target for the community in 2040. Several countries, including Denmark, have pushed for it, and it is great that the Commission has listened to the green front runner countries instead of listening to the dragging nations and forces that are working to roll the EU' s climate policy back," he says.

Green Transition Denmark recommends that it be a minimum target, so that ambitions can be raised further in the EU's green reform negotiations.
"In their latest status report in January, the European Climate Council recommended that the EU set a climate target of 90-95 per cent. in 2040, and we really hope that the governments of the EU countries and the European Parliament listen more to the research and the climate experts than to the lobbyists of the fossil industry or angry farmers blocking the roads around Europe.”

Cheapest to choose deep green strategy

Bjarke Møller estimates that it is realistic and possible to raise the EU's reduction target to 95-100 per cent. in 2040-45, so that it both benefits nature, biodiversity, the economy, employment and social cohesion. He refers to an impact assessment report in which the Commission has produced. It shows that it is actually more cost-effective to bet on a greener LIFE scenario, where you focus more on behavioral changes, resource and energy savings and circular economy and make a more ambitious green transformation of agriculture and the transport sector.

"We at the Green Transition Denmark are pleased that the Commission is recommending a phasing out of the fossil subsidies and creating a more efficient energy taxation. With smart financial incentives, we can get a much faster rollout of renewable energy, energy efficiency improvements and the electrification of all industries, and there is great potential to boost that transition.”

Agriculture should not fail to deliver

"There is a tough political battle ahead for the EU's 2040 climate goals, and it is important that all green forces push hard to lift the ambitions. We must also have plucked some of the worst thistles out of the Commission's plans. In their preferred scenario, they don't really dare to do anything about agriculture's greenhouse gas emissions, and in the middle of the climate crisis, the EU shouldn't shake its pants to see some angry farmers blocking the roads. The EU should proactively change agriculture in a green direction, so that the farmers of the future become climate supporters and do not damage nature's biodiversity. We lack concrete proposals for that in the Commission's plan," says Bjarke Møller.

"We also need to start storing much more CO2 in the forests, and this is possible if we stop burning solid wood biomass and plant far more trees. One of the worst thistles in the Commission's plans is their strong commitment to increased industrial CO2 capture. It is an expensive and risky strategy, and it will cost taxpayers more money than if one invests purposefully in energy efficiency, renewable energy and the development of a more circular economy in Europe," he states.