TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Europe’s leaders are about to consign the Earth to the risk of dangerous climate change, said a UN expert as reported by BBC News.
Prof Jim Skea, a vice-chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said the EU’s plan to cut CO2 emissions 40 percent by 2030 is too weak.
He said that it will commit future governments to “extraordinary and unprecedented” emissions cuts.
The Commission rejected the claim, saying the 40 percent target puts Europe on track for long-term climate goals.
The 40 percent target - proposed by the European Commission - will be finalised at an EU summit this week.
A spokesman for the Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said: "Our 40 percent target is in line with science as it puts us right on track to meet our 2050 goal of cutting emissions by 80 percent to 95 percent.
"This is what developed countries will need to reduce by 2050 according to the IPCC to keep global warming below 2C."
But Prof Skea, vice-chair of the economics working group of the IPCC, told BBC News the EU’s 40 percent target for 2030 would not lead to the desired cut by the middle of the century.
He said the easy climate protection measures – like energy saving - had been snapped up, leaving to future leaders the job of introducing new clean technologies in every walk of life.
"I don't think many people have grasped just how huge this task is," he said. "It is absolutely extraordinary and unprecedented. My guess is that 40 percent for 2030 is too little too late if we are really serious about our long-term targets."
BBC NEWS
