Among the specific measures is the complete rejection of gasoline and diesel cars in the EU by 2035.
The European Commission presented a detailed plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to Reuters. According to the document, the corresponding indicator should decrease by 55 percent from the 1990 level by 2030. It is assumed that success in this direction will ensure the achievement of another ambitious goal – “zero emissions” by 2050.
Specific measures include the complete abandonment of gasoline and diesel cars in the EU by 2035, a significant increase in the number of charging stations for electric vehicles throughout Europe, an increase in the fee for CO2 emissions for industrial companies, the introduction of a pan-European tax on aviation fuel, as well as the obligation for each EU country to create forest zones. Brussels plans to introduce tariffs on emissions for foreign firms, so that they do not have a competitive advantage over European producers. Within the EU, the innovation will affect about 25 million companies.
The plan must now be approved by the Member States and the European Parliament. This can take two years.
The EU’s head of climate policy, Frans Timmermans, admitted that it will not be easy to implement this project, but, he is sure, Europe has no choice. Otherwise, the official believes, humanity will be doomed to ” wage wars over water and food.”
An obstacle to the approval of the document in its current form may be lobbying by big business, poor EU countries, as well as Europeann “polluter” regions, for which the transition to the new regime will be especially expensive.
The current EU climate plan is also being criticized from another flank: Greenpeace said that the proposed measures are not enough to stop the destruction of the planet’s vital systems.
The European Union accounts for only 8 percent of global emissions, but Brussels is confident that its example will inspire other countries to take similar measures. To date, the EU has already reduced emissions by a quarter compared to 1990.
The document outlined by the European Commission looks like a continuation of the initiative to combat climate change, supported at the June summit of the “Big Seven.” The richest countries of the world have agreed to achieve carbon neutrality in two stages-by 2035 and 2050. The United States alone plans to allocate two trillion dollars over the next 15 years to implement this program. This is done in order to prevent an increase in the global average temperature by more than 1.5 degrees.
