The European Commission on Wednesday published a new blueprint detailing how President Ursula von der Leyen's so-called Green Deal will be implemented in order to ensure that the European Union can become climate neutral by 2050
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th July, 2021) The European Commission on Wednesday published a new blueprint detailing how President Ursula von der Leyen's so-called Green Deal will be implemented in order to ensure that the European Union can become climate neutral by 2050.
The wide-ranging plan includes a proposal to levy the world's first carbon border tax on certain goods, including steel and cement, that enter the bloc's territory from 2026.
"To provide businesses and other countries with legal certainty and stability, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism will be phased in gradually and will initially apply only to a selected number of goods at high risk of carbon leakage: iron and steel, cement, fertiliser, aluminium and electricity generation," a European Commission document read.
The bloc will also look to effectively ban the sale of new petrol or diesel cars from 2035, according to the European Commission's proposal.
Measures have also been tabled to reduce the emissions caused by aviation and maritime fuels.
"The ReFuelEU Aviation Initiative will oblige fuel suppliers to blend increasing levels of sustainable aviation fuels in jet fuel taken on-board at EU airports ... Similarly, the FuelEU Maritime Initiative will stimulate the uptake of sustainable maritime fuels and zero-emission technologies by setting a maximum limit on the greenhouse gas content of energy used by ships calling at European ports," the document read.
Additionally, the European Union should aim to produce 40% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030 as part of the bloc's Renewable Energy Directive.
The commission also proposed establishing a new Social Climate Fund that could mobilize up to 144.4 billion Euros ($170 billion) to help EU member states finance investments in energy efficiency and introduce cleaner forms of transport.
The European Green Deal, proposed by von der Leyen after she assumed the position of European Commission President in December 2019, proposes to reduce the European Union greenhouse gas emission to net zero by 2050.
