What will be the path of the European Union towards a fully decarbonised economy by 2050?

Our energy expert Thibault Jacobs shares the actions that the next European Commission could implement, in support of the path towards a decarbonised economy by 2050.

Approved in December 2015, the Paris Agreement is the most ambitious agreement ever signed to tackle the effects of climate change. It plans on containing the rise of global temperatures to well below 2°C below pre-industrial times and to limit it to 1.5°C. To do so, signatory parties will have to take concrete actions.

By 2020, these signatories will have to share their clear and precise pathways towards these targets. At EU-level, the next European Commission will need to organise a debate with EU stakeholders to work towards its adoption.

Already in 2018, the Commission released a communication for its 2050 Low-Carbon Strategy, setting the framework of such a debate and strategy with one key objective: to develop a completely carbon-natural economy.

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Yet, what kind of discussions and changes can we expect to see in the energy and transport sectors? The debate could focus on figuring out which technologies Europe should invest in and how it could be financed.

The Commission suggests increasing the EU budget in climate-related actions from 20% to 25%. Also, it suggests increasing investments to adapt our overall energy system, from 2% to 2.8% of GDP (550 billion euros).

Jacobs stresses that the changes will likely affect all industrial sectors. Therefore, EU stakeholders, businesses and the industry will need to debate on Europe’s path towards a decarbonised economy by 2050. This will most likely have a considerable impact for all sectors; it will be capital for all to be part of the discussion.