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Greater climate action required by the EU

to stay under 1.5°C limit

September 27, 2018

By Imke Lübbeke, Head of Climate & Energy, WWF European Policy Office

Let’s talk about coal

 

If you have been reading the news since this summer - one of the warmest on record in Europe--you have likely seen the plethora of evidence coming out on the dangers of air pollution. One in particular is responsible for these harmful emissions: coal.

 

Burning coal for electricity produces a whole range of toxic gases. In Europe, coal power emissions were responsible for over 22,900 premature deaths, tens of thousands of cases of ill-health from heart disease to bronchitis, and up to EUR 62.3 billion in health costs in 2013.

 

 

 

Coal is not just a killer of people, it is also devastating for the climate. In 2015, 18% of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions came from its 284 coal plants. To limit global warming to well below 2°C temperature rise, European coal emissions must fall on average by 8% every year until 2040. This is three times faster than they currently do.

 

Switching off coal plants, and replacing them with emissions-free wind and solar, would therefore be massively beneficial for our health - and our health bills - as well as for our climate. This is why more and more countries, states and businesses are announcing coal phase-outs - for example as part of the ‘Powering Past Coal’ alliance, launched in 2017 by the UK and Canada.

 

A holistic approach to climate-policy is needed

 

While this initiative is a step in the right direction, far greater actions are needed to tackle coal and all other contributors to our warming climate.

 

Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, countries agreed to keep global warming well under 2°C and work to keeping it to 1.5°C. The differences in impacts between that half degree are enormous, especially for the most fragile ecosystems, and communities.

 

Next month, the UN’s panel of climate scientists - the IPCC - will publish its landmark report on the impacts of a 1.5 °C warming, and the potential pathways to meet that target. Containing climate change to that extent will require a drastic and urgent transformation of our economies, starting with ending our use of coal power and other fossil fuels, and supporting its workers transition professionally to other industries.

 

The EU’s pathway to 1.5°C

 

The EU is currently preparing its own long-term climate strategy. This output will shape its climate actions up to 2050, and would influence its 2030 climate and energy emissions targets.

 

Thankfully, there is a chance right now to influence its climate plan. The EU has opened a ‘public consultation’ - an online series of questions - on the contents and ambition needed. This consultation is still open until 9 October, and we encourage all concerned citizens to have their say.

 

Given that we are currently on course for 3°C of warming, the EU needs to aim for zero net emissions by 2040 to stand a chance of not overreaching the 1.5°C global limit. This can be achieved by reducing emissions in different sectors, and increasing CO2 removals through the restoration of forests and other ecosystems.

 

But the most ambitious option proposed by the European Commission is to reduce emissions to net zero by 2050, ten years later. Aiming for net zero emissions by 2050 only, and setting the 2030 emissions reduction target to 45% - as Commissioner Cañete has recently said he wants to do - does not reflect the urgency and the risks - of the needed policy actions.

 

The Rise for Climate events, which took place earlier this month all around the world, showcased people’s growing demand for climate policy action. This December’s UN climate summit in Poland, COP24, will be a chance for the EU and its Member States to act in the interest of the global community, and show its citizens that they have been heard.

 

 

 

Keep track of our work on www.wwf.eu and Twitter (@WWFEU)