Europe Looks To Pass 2050 Net Zero Carbon Goal Into Law

The European Commission proposed on Wednesday enshrining the European Green Deal’s commitment for carbon neutrality by 2050 into legislation, as part of the European Union’s heightened focus on climate action and policy.

Under a European Climate Law, the 2050 carbon neutrality target would become legally binding, and all EU institutions and member states will be collectively bound to take the necessary measures at EU and national level to meet that target.   

The Climate Law would enshrine into law the EU’s political pledge to become climate neutral by 2050, the Commission said, noting that the proposed law is a crucial part of the European Green Deal, which the EU’s executive arm proposed at the end of last year.  

“We are acting today to make the EU the world’s first climate neutral continent by 2050,” the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement on Wednesday.  

“The Climate Law is the legal translation of our political commitment, and sets us irreversibly on the path to a more sustainable future. It is the heart of the European Green Deal. It offers predictability and transparency for European industry and investors. And it gives direction to our green growth strategy and guarantees that the transition will be gradual and fair,” von der Leyen noted.

Under the Green Deal, the EU will support investments in sustainable businesses, technologies, and solutions and in greener energy and electricity generation. The Deal also includes a so-called Just Transition Fund to support with money packages regions and/or countries heavily reliant on coal. 

The deal is a “watershed moment for the energy sector,” Wood Mackenzie said after the 2050 carbon neutrality goal was first announced in December.

“Pressure on European fossil fuel producers to commit to net-zero carbon, including Scope 3 emissions, will continue to ramp up,” said Valentina Kretzschmar, Wood Mackenzie Director - Corporate Research.  

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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