EU risks missing its 2030 climate targets

The European Union is forecast to miss its target of cutting emissions by 55% by 2030, as set out in the Fit for 55 package. The main reasons are ineffective financing for new projects and a lack of certainty for investors.

Member states must submit their final plans for meeting greenhouse gas emission reduction targets by June 2024. So far, the Commission has received only 21 of them for more detailed analysis.

According to European Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra, it is clear that the EU needs “stronger commitments in the final plans”, particularly in agriculture, heating and road transport. These sectors, also known as the effort-sharing sectors, account for around 57% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the EU and are forecast to see the least satisfactory reductions compared with expectations.

There is a risk that the target of cutting emissions in these sectors by 40% will be missed by as much as 6.2 percentage points. Another target with a less than rosy outlook is the share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption, which could reach just 38.5% in 2030, compared with the original target of 42.5%.