Press release - May 26, 2010
Brussels, Belgium — In a paper published today, the European Commission is expected to find that upgrading the EU’s greenhouse gas emission reduction target would be much cheaper than predicted and bring jobs and economic development to Europe, said Greenpeace.
The Commission estimates that achieving the EU's current 20% emissions target for 2020 is at least one third cheaper (€22 billion) than calculated in 2008. According to the Commission, increasing the target to 30% could actually save up to €40 billion in fossil fuel imports alone and create hundreds of thousands of green jobs.
Greenpeace EU climate and energy policy director Joris den Blanken said: "Some industry lobbyists claim that ambitious climate targets will lead to cuts in jobs and production, but the Commission paper shows that the opposite is true. With a stronger climate target, companies would stop profiting from pollution and start gaining from green growth."
Industries in the manufacturing sector claim that a stricter EU target would expose them to competition from abroad. But at the same time they are piling up billions-worth in unused carbon credits (due mainly to the economic slowdown). A report found last week that the steel, refinery and iron sectors have in fact been passing on to European consumers the imaginary cost of these carbon credits they get for free, making €14 billion in windfall profits over only three years.[1]
Greenpeace calls on EU member states to support Commission findings on the benefits and costs of a 30% emission cut. This should be a first step towards at least 40% emission cuts for all industrialised countries under a global climate agreement.
Notes:
[1] CE Delft (2010), Does the energy intensive industry obtain windfall profits through the EU ETS? Click here">http://www.ce.nl/publicatie/does_the_energy_intensive_industry_obtain_windfall_profits_through_the_eu_ets/1038">here for website.