The newly established European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change (ESABCC) first made its mark when delivering its advice to the Commission in July 2023 on setting the EU’s 2040 mitigation target. It recommended emission reductions of 90–95% by 2040 relative to 1990. The Commission Communication proposing its climate target will be published on 6 February 2024. It is expected to propose a reduction target in net emissions of at least 90% in line with the recommendation of the Advisory Board. This is the target to which the new Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra committed in his appointment hearing before the Parliament’s Environment Committee in October last year.
The ESABCC has now followed up with its first progress report published last week 17 January 2024 containing advice on policy actions that can support the legal target in the European Climate Law of achieving climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest. The report includes both an assessment of progress, based on an analysis of relevant indicators and their comparison with indicative benchmarks, as well as an assessment of the consistency of existing policies with the EU’s climate objectives.… Read the rest
