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CALL FOR EUROPE TO STEP UP ON CLIMATE
The outdoor community knows a thing or two about rising to the challenge. Now let’s get European leaders to do the same.
WILL YOU JOIN US?
COUNT ME IN! SO WHAT DO WE DO?
First, let’s backtrack a minute to explain why we’re doing this now. This autumn, European leaders need to make a big decision. It is about how much carbon emissions will be reduced within their countries and across the EU by 2030. Will they set goals in line with science – or lock us into another 10 years of inadequate climate policy? 93% of EU citizens see climate change as a serious problem. And it is now, 2020, that the global emissions curve must begin to bend sharply downwards. The science is clear: what we do in the next 10 years will determine whether we succeed in limiting warming to a maximum of 1.5℃.
What we need to do, in short, is to reduce carbon emissions by at least 65% by 2030. The trouble is, almost all countries are falling far short of that so far. But, under the Paris Agreement, all countries and the EU are due to set new, more ambitious climate targets by the end of this year. For the EU, the European Commission has put 55% on the table and, thanks to pressure from citizens and NGOs, including POW, the European Parliament has voted to up that to 60%. Which is better, but still puts us on a course of more than 2℃ warming, with devastating effects not just for our winters, the outdoor places and lifestyles we love, but for all humanity and nature as we know it. The same goes for European countries outside the EU: we need maximum ambition now.
So let’s raise our voices and push for 65% cuts! We make it easy. Just tweet or email your decision-maker. Here’s how:
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
Under the Paris Agreement reached in December 2015, all countries pledged to do what it takes to keep global warming well below 2℃ and within 1.5℃ if possible. They set climate targets, so-called NDCs, and pledged to raise them in five years’ time. That’s now: 2020. And we need more ambition badly, because current policies put the world nearer to 4 degrees warming by 2100.
ARE 65% CARBON EMISSIONS CUTS BY 2030 POSSIBLE?
Yes. The Paris Agreement Compatible (PAC) energy scenario clearly shows that a 65% cut in emissions is not only possible, but also economically feasible. Through a transition of the EU energy system, including a swift ramping-up of domestic renewable energy use and clean, electrified transport, a quick phase-out of fossil fuels and a very limited role for non-fossil gases and fuels, the 65% cut is achievable and would bring us on a #newpath of limiting global warming to 1.5°C. Additionally, research shows these measures would help save more than 60 billion tons of CO2 and almost 2 trillion euros from not importing fossil fuels.
WHAT ABOUT THE COVID 19 CRISIS?
The health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis are devastating and the full consequences are yet to be seen. But one thing that’s become clearer and clearer is that the health crisis and the climate crisis are completely intertwined. And the solutions are too. Through our #newpath campaign launched on Earth Day in April, it’s become quite clear that the outdoor community doesn’t want to go ‘back to normal’ but forward, on a new path, to a better, healthier, kinder and fairer world.
Out of crisis often comes transformation. The economic recovery packages being decided and funded in the next few months, in Europe and globally, offer a massive opportunity to build back better and greener. During the summer the EU decided on a historic budget of €1.8 trillion (€1.08 billion for the EU long term budget and €750 million for the Next Generation EU, which is the recovery plan to tackle the crisis). Over the next weeks and months, all European countries will be developing and submitting their national recovery plans to demonstrate how they will contribute to achieving the higher climate targets we need. Join us and tell them we are counting on them.
