London, 26 May 2010

The European Commission has today published a communication objectively assessing the economic and political impacts of increasing the EU’s CO2 emission reduction target from 20% to 30% by 2020.The analysis supporting the paper clearly shows that the costs of reaching the higher target are much lower than previously thought. It also shows that an increased target will act as a stimulus for innovation and save the European economy billions of Euros in oil and gas imports.

Responding to the new analysis, WWF-UK’s Head of Climate Change, Keith Allott said: “Moving to a 30% target now is a vital first step if Europe is to kick-start the transformation to a green economy and to generate new industries and jobs – especially if the focus is on domestic delivery rather than offsetting. It would also go some way to restoring EU leadership in the aftermath of the Copenhagen summit. Sticking with the current 20% target is just business as usual – and means that Europe and the UK will become locked into costly high-carbon investments."

“The new UK Government has signalled that it supports a move to 30%, and we hope David Cameron and Nick Clegg will push this strongly with other EU leaders. As a first step, they could show that the UK really means business by tightening up our targets under the Climate Change Act to be in line with a more ambitious EU target.”

However, WWF stresses that even a 30% target is not sufficient to achieve Europe’s long-standing commitment to keep temperature increases below 2C – and calls on EU leaders to make clear that they would move to a higher target in the context of an international climate agreement. Last year, WWF collected signatures from the world’s leading climate scientists on a statement indicating that developed economies like Europe ‘must cut emissions by 40 per cent by 2020 in order to keep global warming below 2 degrees.

Reports show that raising the emission reduction target will also be beneficial for the EU’s economy in the long-term. Achieving a 30% target would save EUR 40 bn. in oil and gas imports in 2020 – the money saved could then be reinvested in Europe where it is needed most.

The RECIPE report sponsored by WWF Germany and Allianz found that a reduction target of 30% made economic sense, even without deeper reduction commitments in other countries.

A study published in 2009 by WWF France found that a 30% CO2 cut by 2020 would yield a net gain of 684,000 jobs in France alone.

A report WWF co-sponsored with CAN Europe and HEAL in 2008 found that the additional benefits to public health in the EU of a 30% target compared with a 20% target totalled up to EUR 25 bn. annually from 2020 onwards.

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