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The European Commission have announced new energy and climate objectives to be met by 2030, including a 40% cut in greenhouse gas emissions (compared to 1990 levels) and a minimum 27% share of renewable energy consumption.
Prof Kevin Anderson, Professor of Energy and Climate Change at the University of Manchester and Deputy Director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, said:
“We have to take into account that the 40% target is the death knell of 2 degrees C, and probably much more aligned with 4 degrees C once all the trading/CDM/offsetting scams are factored in.
“So the question, then, is what will the future energy system look like with significant levels of climate change? As a climate community, we continually forget that not acting now has repercussions that in themselves change what the future will be – we ask questions as if the science is in any real doubt. It is not.”
Ajay Gambhir, Research Fellow at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change, Imperial College London, said:
“Some have claimed the 2020 renewables target has made mitigation unnecessarily expensive, by focusing effort on higher cost renewable technologies. Others have countered that it’s created a market for these technologies, driving learning and cost reductions. Looking forward, whether or not the EU adopts a 2030 renewables target, of paramount importance is the need to drive renewable and other low-carbon technology development through appropriate targeting of R&D, demonstration and deployment support.”