More measures are needed to meet the European Union’s climate targets, despite significant progress.

In the report of the European Union’s Scientific Committee on Climate Change (published on 18 January 2024) entitled “Towards EU climate neutrality: progress, policy gaps and opportunities”, it is noted that significant progress achieved (in the European Union) from 2005 to 2022 in terms of reducing carbon dioxide equivalent emissions but at the same time it is pointed out that a doubling of the annual rate of emission reduction is required to achieve the 2030 target (i.e. a reduction of emissions by at least 55% compared to 1990) and that for climate neutrality in 2050.

As noted by Kon/nos Kartalis, Professor of the University of Athens and member of the Scientific Committee, the report points out a delay in the goal of phasing out emissions from the use of fossil fuels (energy, industry, buildings, although mainly in transport) as well as a reduction – from 2015 onwards – of the carbon dioxide absorption potential of forests in European Unionwith the decrease being related to the aging of forests, their overexploitation for forest biomass production and the loss of forest land due to forest fires.

In order to achieve the emission reduction targets for 2030, the Scientific Committee considers necessary measures:

the doubling and quadrupling of current energy production from wind and solar farms respectively,

the gradual abolition of fossil fuels and the avoidance of investments that will commit the energy infrastructure of the European Union to the use of fossil fuels in the future,

the immediate abolition of fossil fuel subsidies, especially considering their significant increase in recent years (in the year 2022 fossil fuel subsidies in the European Union reached 120 billion euros from about 50 billion euros in 2021),

maintaining support for vulnerable households, combined with incentives to save energy and switch to renewable energy sources;

promoting the use of green hydrogen as opposed to blue hydrogen produced using energy from fossil fuels;

the abolition of the use of fossil fuels for heating and electricity production by 2040;

the use of carbon capture and use/storage technologies only in activities – mainly industrial – for which there are no or extremely limited possibilities to reduce emissions.