EU to miss 2020 green goals: agency

COPENHAGEN: The EU will not meet its environmental targets for 2020 but could achieve those for 2030 and 2050 if urgent action is taken, the European Environment Agency (EEA) said on Wednesday.

“While most of the 2020 targets will not be achieved, especially those on biodiversity, there is still a chance to meet the longer-term goals and objectives for 2030 and 2050,” the EEA said in a report published during the COP25 summit that opened in Madrid on Monday.

It said Europe needed “urgent action” during the next 10 years to address “the alarming rate of biodiversity loss, increasing impacts of climate change and the overconsumption of natural resources.”

The report noted that while there had been a 22 percent decrease in greenhouse gas emissions between 1990 and 2017 and a rising share of renewable energies, more progress was needed.

The EEA said that of the 13 biodiversity policy objectives set for 2020, only two would be met: designating marine protected areas and terrestrial protected areas.

However, the protection of species and natural habitats, water ecosystems and wetlands, and soil conditions remain a concern, as do chemical emissions and air and noise pollution.

“Policies have been more effective in reducing environmental pressures than in protecting biodiversity and ecosystems, and human health and well-being,” the report said.

Current trends show a “slowing down of progress in areas such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions, industrial emissions, waste generation, improving energy efficiency and the share of renewable energy. Looking ahead, the current rate of progress will not be enough to meet 2030 and 2050 climate and energy targets.”

The COP15 on biodiversity will be held next year in China where states will set new targets, even though the objectives for 2020 will still not have been met.