While Europe may be making progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, its largest utility company does not believe officials are moving fast enough. Reuters reports that Enel has released a study warning Europe that it could fall behind in reducing greenhouse gas emissions if the current pace is maintained. Enel stated that the European Union wants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030. However, it will not reach this target without significant changes until 2051.
According to the study, the continent would not reach its 40% renewable energy goal (also set in 2030) until 2043.
According to the utility, the EU would need approximately 3.6 trillion to reach its 2030 emission goal. This is just under $4.3 trillion. Officials will also need to establish governance that is more suited to the challenge and capable of quickly turning plans into "concrete actions". This would include tighter coordination among EU member states and a regional strategy to foster market integration.
It was clear that the Union would have to rethink their strategy. The new 55 percent emission reduction target was a major leap over the previous 40 percent. Enel has strong incentives to spend more on its renewable energy business. These findings may help to quantify how much work remains, but the EU might be open to hearing from a major energy supplier if it requests more aggressive clean energy adoption.
