States’ climate policies for 2050 given low grade

Citation

(2011), "States’ climate policies for 2050 given low grade", International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, Vol. 3 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijccsm.2011.41403caa.002

States’ climate policies for 2050 given low grade

Article Type: News From: International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, Volume 3, Issue 3

Only one-third of the policies needed to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the EU by 80-95 per cent by 2050 are in place today, according to a climate policy tracking tool launched by WWF and environmental consultancy Ecofys.

The tool and accompanying report give a snapshot of emission controls by member state and by sector. The analysis shows that while the level of ambition for emission reduction policy varies greatly between member states, overall the results are weak. Even the best-performing countries – Germany, Denmark, Ireland and Sweden – score only a “D” grade on the A to G scale. This is half of what is needed for the 2050 goal. The most commonly implemented measures are in the renewable energy field, while energy efficiency, transport and industry policies are rarer. This is largely due to poor implementation of EU law, with 40 per cent of the policies assessed emerging from Brussels, the report’s authors point out. The rankings are based on a set of 83 indicators measuring the effectiveness of the policies, but also look at whether counterproductive policies and barriers are in place.