As climate legislation limps along in the US, environmental ministers from 27 European countries upped the ante.
They say they’ll slash greenhouse gas emissions 30% by 2020 (up from 20%) and 80-95% by 2050 … IF other developed nations follow suit and finalize a climate pact in Copenhagen in early December.
The bills under consideration in the US would reduce emissions by 17-20% by 2020 and 85% by 2050.
EU ministers also said they reached agreement on tough action on deforestation. They said the airline industry needs to cut emissions 10% by 2020 compared with 2005 levels and the shipping industry needs to cut emissions by 20%.
A report by climate consultancy Ecofys show that a 30% cut in emissions (from 1990 levels by 2020) is quite achievable at negliglible cost, as is 45% cuts by 2030.
The way to do this, they say, is to replace energy-related equipment at the end of its economic life with energy-efficient, low-carbon technologies.
The study, "Sectoral Emission Reduction Potentials and Economic Costs for Climate Change, examined 650 technologies over two years and compared their costs across 10 major sectors and EU countries.
They also found that sectors that are currently excluded from the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme – road transport, built environment, agriculture and waste – could cut emissions 20% by 2020, and 27% by 2030.
Ecofys says Britain, Germany and Ireland could potentially cut emissions 50-60% by 2030.
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