BRUSSELS: Momentum is growing across Europe toward a mid-century target for climate neutrality that UN scientists say the world must embrace to avert catastrophe.
Last year, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned that temperature rises must be capped at 1.5 deg Celsius over pre-industrial levels to avoid an upsurge in killer heatwaves, droughts and superstorms.The IPCC said by far the safest route to the cap is an immediate, drastic reduction in fossil fuel use, with emissions peaking in a few years and reaching net-zero by 2050.
Support for the 2050 goal has gained momentum since European elections in May, when climate change fears helped the Greens win many new seats. Von der Leyen echoed Rijsberman when she stressed the importance of private financing to make up for insufficient public funding. The Slovak said the barrier to investment is not the availability of funding but the"marketability and scalability" of innovations.
Among the looming challenges, Rijsberman said, governments will have to write massive unemployment and retraining cheques for workers who lose jobs in coal mines and auto factories.
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