The EU executive said a 2040 target will help European industry, investors, citizens and governments to make decisions this decade while providing signals on investment and planning for the longer term.
Ambitious climate and energy policies are at the heart of the EU’s green deal. The EC wants it to become an industrial decarbonisation strategy that includes electrolysers and wind power among key industrial strengths.
In a recent communication on the topic, the EC called for “infrastructure to deliver, transport and store hydrogen and carbon dioxide”. It said that targeted public intervention could act as a catalyst to accelerate investment.
The gas market structure will change significantly, the communication added, and will need to adapt to decentralised production, with parts of the existing network repurposed for low-carbon hydrogen.
The 90% target falls at the midpoint of the EC’s central option of cutting emissions by 85–90% and the most ambitious option of a 90–95% cut.
The EC said the recommended target “requires a rapid deployment of zero- and low- carbon technologies by 2040”. This could create a large domestic market and put Europe “in a leading position in the global clean technology race”, it added.
Industrial policy should strengthen sectors that are needed for the green transition. “Examples could include industrial alliances and symbiotic industrial clusters, like hydrogen valleys, within the EU and its neighbourhood.”
The EC also said it planned a dedicated taskforce to develop a global approach to carbon pricing and carbon markets.
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