Europe – EU has power to freeze climate change

The European Union can cut a third of its greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 through energy efficiency and renewable energies, as well as through a strong emissions trading system, says WWF.

A new report written by the Wuppertal Institute for WWF – Target 2020: Policies and measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the EU – highlights the concrete steps that the EU should take to cut CO2 emissions by 33 per cent by 2020, even with a moratorium on nuclear energy.

WWF stresses that a climate-friendlier Europe will bring the EU huge benefits, including less dependency on foreign sources of energy, cost savings for all sectors of the economy, reduced health costs due to lower pollution, and more job opportunities in the field of renewable energies and energy conservation.

The report shows that by 2020 the EU‘s energy demand could be reduced by 20 per cent without reducing living standards or damaging the economy. Without immediate action energy demand will grow up to 1.46 per cent per year, while it could decrease by 0.4 per cent per year if concrete policies are adopted.

Private households alone could save a fifth of their energy demands through better insulation, more efficient heating and cooling systems, and by using more energy-efficient appliances. The power sector could reduce its CO2 emission by more than half, with more investment made in renewable energies, combined heat and power generation and consumer energy conservation. Renewable energy sources, such as biomass (organic waste, wood and biogas), wind and sustainable hydro, have the potential to grow from today‘s 1.8 per cent per year to 6.10 per cent.

Greenhouse gas emissions non-related to energy consumption can also be reduced by 33 per cent, mainly in the agricultural and waste sectors. WWF calls on the EU to adopt a comprehensive climate policy strategy with a strong emissions trading system at its heart, supported by directives that promote mandatory targets for energy efficiency as well as legal and fiscal support to renewable energies. An ecological finance reform should also be implemented to remove direct and indirect subsidies for unsustainable energy.

The report compares a "business as usual" scenario, that assumes existing policies will continue without specific emphasis on climate and energy, with a "target 2020" scenario, which considers the potential to increase energy efficiency and market penetration of renewable energies. This scenario also assumes a fuel switch to less carbon-intensive fossil fuels and a moratorium on new nuclear power plants and compliance with ongoing nuclear phase-out