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The EU\u2019s top scientific advisors are urging the bloc not to use international carbon credits to meet its climate targets.<\/p>\n
In an unprecedented intervention, the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change (ESABCC) has today issued a report rebuking Brussels\u2019 expected plan to weaken its 2040 goal.<\/p>\n
The experts say the bloc must stay the course on cutting domestic greenhouse gas emissions by 90-95 per cent below 1990 levels by 2040, following suggestions last week that it would settle for something less ambitious.<\/p>\n
\u201cA 90-95 per cent domestic reduction target for 2040 is both achievable and in Europe\u2019s own strategic interest. We need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, and the necessary technologies are largely available,\u201d says Prof. Jette Bredahl Jacobsen, vice-Chair of the Advisory Board.<\/p>\n
Domestic is the operative word; outsourcing our emissions cutting to other countries via carbon credits<\/strong><\/a> would be a misguided approach on several levels, the scientists and climate campaigners have emphasised.\u00a0<\/p>\n What is the EU\u2019s climate plan for 2040?<\/p>\n The EU has pledged to be climate neutral by 2050, and is almost on track<\/strong><\/a> to reduce emissions by 55 per cent by 2030. But its interim target for 2040 is yet to be legally fixed.\u00a0<\/p>\n European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, alongside climate chiefs Wopke Hoekstra and Teresa Ribera, had previously indicated that the EU would aim to cut its emissions by 90 per cent by 2040<\/strong><\/a>. That is at the lower end of what ESABCC recommended in 2023.<\/p>\n But after pushback from some governments, Hoekstra has delayed the revision of the European Climate Law until around 2 July. He is reportedly considering ways to make the 2040 goal more flexible, including the use of carbon credits.\u00a0<\/p>\n What\u2019s the problem with carbon credits?<\/p>\n Under a UN-backed framework agreed at the climate summit COP29<\/strong><\/a> last year, carbon credits enable one country to pay for emissions-cutting projects in another nation, and count the saved CO2 towards its own progress.\u00a0<\/p>\n Supporters claim these transactions are more cost-effective than domestic action and can help poorer countries get funding for climate action.<\/p>\n Critics, including scientists on the advisory board, argue that the credits risk diverting resources from domestic investments and could undermine environmental integrity.<\/p>\n \u201cDelaying action or relying on international carbon credits would risk missing vital opportunities to modernise the EU\u2019s economy, create quality jobs, and reinforce Europe\u2019s position in clean tech leadership,\u201d Bredahl Jacobsen says.<\/p>\n The ESABCC – which is an independent body legally tasked with making climate policy recommendations – has never commented on an ongoing political debate in this manner before.\u00a0<\/p>\n