A group of leading global corporates has urged the European Union to establish a stretching climate target for 2040, arguing the bloc should set a new goal to cut net greenhouse emissions by at least 90 percent on 1990 levels.
Coca Cola, Unilever, Salesforce, Velux and Signify are among the firms to have backed the call, which has been organized by the Corporate Leaders Group Europe and is contained in a new position paper setting out the rationale for a revised climate target for the bloc.
The European Commission is mandated by the European Climate Law to set a formal climate target for 2040 by the first quarter of 2024, and recently closed a three-month public consultation on the final form for the new target.
While some organizations have advocated for a 90 to 95 percent emissions reduction target, others have called for the bloc to fix its sights on a less stretching goal of between 70 and 80 percent.
Today, the CLG said a target of at least 90 percent reduction of emissions was a level of ambition aligned with the Paris Agreement's goal to limit global warming to 1.5C and was based on assessments conducted by the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change and modeling by analysts Climact and Agora Energiewende.
The goal should also stipulate that no more than 8 to 10 percent of the emissions reductions required to meet the EU's 2040 climate goal should be supplied by carbon removals, according to the report.
The CLG said that by committing to a more ambitious 2040 target, the EU could send a clear signal to business that climate action will remain at the heart of its political agenda for the next two decades, providing firms with the confidence to invest in the transition.
Ursula Woodburn, director of Corporate Leaders Group Europe, said targeting an "at least 90 percent" reduction in emissions by 2040 was "necessary, desirable and feasible."
"It will send a strong signal to speed up both decarbonization efforts and the clean energy transition — and to increase the EU's industrial competitiveness, including through the successful implementation of the Fit for 55 package by 2030," she said.
In response to the call, a spokesperson for the EU Commission said it was "premature to speculate on possible emission reduction levels for 2040."
"The Commission values all input which comes from the public and stakeholders and it will contribute to the Commission's impact assessment [of the EU's 2040 climate target] which is due to be published early next year," the spokesperson said. "The Commission's Impact Assessment will draw on all relevant scientific input and wil
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