December 2020 marks the first anniversary of European Commission President Von der Leyen's announcement of the European Green Deal – with the centrepiece ambition to make Europe a carbon-neutral continent by 2050.
The initial climate action initiatives include the European Climate Law to enshrine the 2050 climate-neutrality objective into EU law, the European Climate Pact to engage citizens and all parts of society in climate action, and the 2030 Climate Target Plan to further reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030.
In early 2021, the Commission will adopt a new, more ambitious EU strategy on adaptation to climate change.
Businesses and consumers will be central actors in achieving the EU ambition, and the way we produce and consume our food and drink will be at the heart of fighting climate change and achieving the transition to a climate-neutral society.
Deep decarbonisation should be in lockstep with preserving market competitiveness and security of energy supply. Clean energy, natural gas, and advanced energy technologies will increase energy security while contributing to decarbonisation, but only if financial, technical, societal, and geopolitical issues are addressed.
The total costs of reaching the EU’s climate change targets could be a burden for Member States with GDP per capita below the EU’s average (and heavily reliant on coal) which have a different starting point in the transformation to a climate-neutral economy. Stakeholders from these Member States argue that a proper financing mechanism should be provided for these Member States so as to help them in this transition and not to leave them behind.
In this framework, what are the technological challenges that the European energy sector is facing in view of implementing the Green Deal and achieving climate neutrality? How important is the role of technologies such as gas, offshore, onshore, PV, and how can they help achieve a carbon-neutral Europe by 2050?
