The European Commission announced one of the world’s most ambitious goals to slash planet-heating pollution on Tuesday, but protesting farmers and upcoming elections could threaten its success, analysts say.
The Commission — which is part of the European Union’s executive government — is backing a 90% cut in carbon emissions by 2040, from 1990 levels, taking a stance that is likely to set a benchmark for developed nations around the world.
EU Commissioner for Climate Action Wopke Hoekstra made the announcement in parliament, and a roadmap outlining how to reach the target was published by the Commission shortly after, touching on the future of fossil fuels, transportation and industry.
The announcement will kick off months of talks that could take up to a year before the European Parliament rubber stamps the target.
The Commission removed a separate target for climate action in the agricultural sector that had appeared in an earlier draft, obtained by CNN. It is a concession to European farmers who have been protesting for weeks, some of whom had explicitly rallied against climate policies they consider a threat to their livelihoods. [Read more](https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/06/climate/eu-climate-plan-emissions-intl/index.html)
Unfortunately, it cannot and it will not.
The real danger is if the far right prevails in the upcoming European elections. We will have a parliament of Trump lovers that will burn Europe and the rest of the world to the ground.
Yes, but it won’t
Until westerners are willing to sacrifice “quality of life” there won’t sufficient change.
We will never legislate our way to a sustainable future. Legislation is an important component, but it will not bring about the kind of paradigm shifts and cataclysmic changes necessary to secure a sustainable future.
The **only** thing that can catalyze this change is a substantial majority of people adopting sustainable lifestyles *and* sacrificing cheap convenience for responsible consumption. As long as there is a profit to be made, businesses will ensure loopholes and exceptions exist to facilitate that.
Legislation doesn’t ever come about as an initiator of change. It comes as a response to it; when enough of the population has adopted sustainability that unsustainable living becomes “unfashionable,” legislation will follow to codify the new standards and norms.
> The Commission removed a separate target for climate action in the agricultural sector that had appeared in an earlier draft, obtained by CNN. It is a concession to European farmers who have been protesting for weeks, some of whom had explicitly rallied against climate policies they consider a threat to their livelihoods.
Perhaps now people will get why diet patterns are of critical importance. The Big Ag lobbies are strong and they get a lot of subsidies. They will prevent needed change.
What’s left is destroying demand from the bottom up (boycotting), such as by eating a plant based diet. Forget the “fake meat”, eat legumes and more whole grains. And you can make your own plant milk at home from a dozen or more possible plants and a decent blender. A plant-based diet doesn’t mean eating loads of plant-based or fungi-based meat or cheese, nor does it mean eating only vegetables (a sure way to lose too much weight because you don’t get enough calories).
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The European Commission announced one of the world’s most ambitious goals to slash planet-heating pollution on Tuesday, but protesting farmers and upcoming elections could threaten its success, analysts say.
The Commission — which is part of the European Union’s executive government — is backing a 90% cut in carbon emissions by 2040, from 1990 levels, taking a stance that is likely to set a benchmark for developed nations around the world.
EU Commissioner for Climate Action Wopke Hoekstra made the announcement in parliament, and a roadmap outlining how to reach the target was published by the Commission shortly after, touching on the future of fossil fuels, transportation and industry.
The announcement will kick off months of talks that could take up to a year before the European Parliament rubber stamps the target.
The Commission removed a separate target for climate action in the agricultural sector that had appeared in an earlier draft, obtained by CNN. It is a concession to European farmers who have been protesting for weeks, some of whom had explicitly rallied against climate policies they consider a threat to their livelihoods. [Read more](https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/06/climate/eu-climate-plan-emissions-intl/index.html)
Unfortunately, it cannot and it will not.
The real danger is if the far right prevails in the upcoming European elections. We will have a parliament of Trump lovers that will burn Europe and the rest of the world to the ground.
Yes, but it won’t
Until westerners are willing to sacrifice “quality of life” there won’t sufficient change.
It’s already dead – https://www.reddit.com/r/collapse/s/d0ZFq1dUkn
We will never legislate our way to a sustainable future. Legislation is an important component, but it will not bring about the kind of paradigm shifts and cataclysmic changes necessary to secure a sustainable future.
The **only** thing that can catalyze this change is a substantial majority of people adopting sustainable lifestyles *and* sacrificing cheap convenience for responsible consumption. As long as there is a profit to be made, businesses will ensure loopholes and exceptions exist to facilitate that.
Legislation doesn’t ever come about as an initiator of change. It comes as a response to it; when enough of the population has adopted sustainability that unsustainable living becomes “unfashionable,” legislation will follow to codify the new standards and norms.
> The Commission removed a separate target for climate action in the agricultural sector that had appeared in an earlier draft, obtained by CNN. It is a concession to European farmers who have been protesting for weeks, some of whom had explicitly rallied against climate policies they consider a threat to their livelihoods.
Perhaps now people will get why diet patterns are of critical importance. The Big Ag lobbies are strong and they get a lot of subsidies. They will prevent needed change.
What’s left is destroying demand from the bottom up (boycotting), such as by eating a plant based diet. Forget the “fake meat”, eat legumes and more whole grains. And you can make your own plant milk at home from a dozen or more possible plants and a decent blender. A plant-based diet doesn’t mean eating loads of plant-based or fungi-based meat or cheese, nor does it mean eating only vegetables (a sure way to lose too much weight because you don’t get enough calories).