The European Parliament on Tuesday gave its final approval to two laws that are part of a robust climate change legislation passing through the European Union’s policy making process that is designed to ensure the 27-country bloc cuts greenhouse gas emissions 55% by 2030, from 1990 levels.
The first regulation sets national targets to slash planet-warming emissions in sectors that are not covered by the EU’s carbon market, but generate about 60% of EU greenhouse gas emissions. These sectors include road transport, heating of buildings, agriculture and waste management.
This new law aims to cut emissions from these sectors by 40% by 2030, compared with 2005 and replaces a current target for a 30%.
The new law also tightens the amount of emissions savings from past or future years that countries can “bank” and “borrow” to meet their targets and also ensure richer countries face tougher targets, with Denmark, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg and Sweden facing 50% emission cuts, versus Bulgaria’s 10% goal.
“The new rules for national emission cuts ensure that all member states contribute,” said Jessica Polfjärd, lead lawmaker on the file.
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The second law when fully implemented would lead to expansion in Europe’s forests, marshes and other “sinks” that absorb CO2 from the atmosphere, as the EU wants to ensure this sector removes a net 310 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2030 – a roughly 15% increase from today.
Reversing a recent decline in Europe’s carbon sinks, which can be done by recreating old forests or generating new ones, rewetting peatland or changing farming practices such as reduced tilling to trap more carbon in the soil was an important factor that was considered in the approval of this law.
With this, it means each EU country would face binding targets to absorb more emissions so that the EU-wide goal is reached.
The EU Parliament approved both laws without much hassle. However, EU countries still need to vote on them in the coming months before they can be implemented within the bloc.
EU countries and lawmakers agreed the details last year after months of negotiations, so the final votes typically approve laws with no changes.
Story was adapted from Reuters.
