Dozens of environmental groups issued a joint call on Monday for the European Union to remove carbon removal methods from its climate plans, arguing that some of them are based on unproven technology, while others may not absorb as many greenhouse gas emissions. greenhouse effect as claimed.
The EU Executive Commission has proposed creating a system to certify so-called offsets (carbon absorbed by nature or with technological means) that could then be bought by polluters to reduce their emissions balance.
But some 170 groups, including Friends of the Earth, Corporate Responsibility and the Center for International Environmental Law, argue that plans to use fields, forests or machines for future large-scale removal of carbon from the atmosphere are a “fantasy of green wash”.
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Instead, they have asked the Commission to commit to actual or gross emission reductions, rather than the net reductions that many countries and companies are currently touting in their climate plans. The 27-nation EU aims to achieve ‘net zero’ emissions by 2050.
Flags symbolizing the European Union are seen waving on a pole in the Belgian capital in front of the Le Berlaymont building in Brussels. Environmental groups are calling on the EU to remove carbon removal methods from its climate plans.
(Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Scientists say emissions of planet-warming gases caused by human activity, such as burning fossil fuels, must be halved by 2030 and ended entirely by mid-century to keep the Paris climate agreement goal alive. to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
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The European Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
