Youth Climate Council (Ungeklimarådet)
UKR
An independent advisory board of youth giving input to the Danish climate ministers as well as other Danish politicians and members of the European Parliament.
ID: 365301337247-70
Lobbying Activity
Meeting with Jutta Urpilainen (Commissioner) and European Youth Forum and
26 Jan 2021 · Launching of the youth advisory board
Response to 2030 Climate Target Plan
15 Apr 2020
We stress that this agenda is important in a time of multiple interlinked crises threatening our health, economy and environment. We reiterate our call to listen to science: targets must be binding and based on research. Experts indicate 2040 as the latest that carbon neutrality should be achieved. 2050 is the carbon neutrality deadline for the whole world according to IPCC, so the EU as a wealthy region proud of our capacity for innovation must be climate neutral far earlier.
Some countries have already pledged to reach climate neutrality earlier, including EU member states. Sweden and Scotland aim for 2045. Austria aims for 2040 and Finland 2035. Norway and Uruguay aim for 2030. This shows that faster and more ambitious measures to achieve climate neutrality are possible and must also be taken by the EU.
The 2030 targets are too low. The current consensus is that there needs to be a reduction of 65% compared to 1990 levels. The targets for years earlier than the goal for climate neutrality must make reductions as close as possible to linearity so we avoid having to pay for steep reductions at a later time. Early reductions are also important because the problem is the total sum of greenhouse gasses emitted, i.e. the area under the emission curve is important, not just that it ends in zero. It is important that we keep working in this direction in spite of the other challenges the EU is facing in the short term in areas of public health and the economy because if we postpone climate action the cost of inaction will grow both financially and in the impact on citizens.
Science clearly shows that we are confronted with an existential global crisis and that we need to act immediately. Therefore, the EU must hurry up and increase its 2030 targets as soon as possible to make sure that these higher targets are achieved. If there is not sufficient enforcement then the law and the target will be meaningless. There needs to be appropriate mechanisms in place to monitor progress towards the goal and to ensure compliance with the law.
While in the long-term a fast and comprehensive transition will make our economy and society more resilient and prosperous, the EU must not shy away from measures that may be perceived as drastic or expensive in the short term, but that are shown by science to be crucial in fighting the climate crisis. This includes an immediate phase out of fossil fuels and an efficient greenhouse gas pricing mechanism, including a carbon border tax. While investments in research to develop new technologies, contributing to climate mitigation, is important, plans need to be made based on options that are already available, it is pure speculation to predict when new technologies will be available and to what extent they can contribute to climate mitigation. It would be an irresponsible gamble with our future to take such contributions for granted when developing a strategy to combat the climate crisis.
A successful strategy to fight the climate crisis requires a comprehensive financial blueprint, indicating how all costs for the necessary investments are going to be covered. While a sustainable transformation will be profitable in the long-term, as scientists and experts predict, it will initially involve significant costs. Costs and profits could be distributed differently: on the one hand, in an unjust way, imposing the biggest burden on those who are struggling already while granting the profits to those who are already privileged. On the other hand, the distribution can be done in a just way, by making those who can afford it pay most while everyone enjoys the profit. The EU must choose the latter ensuring a just transformation of our economy. Besides moral and social implications, a just transition will increase the general acceptance of the urgent measures taken to fight the climate crisis by minimising social hardship, which could be used as an argument against comprehensive measures.
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