Opportunities & Challenges As Europe Sets New Emission Goals

Anna Young in EBN writes -

 "The European Commission wants to build a "low-carbon society" and by 2050 hopes cut domestic emissions by up to 95 percent. To achieve this admirable but obviously difficult goal, the EC has issued marching orders to all segments of the society -- individuals, businesses, local governments, and other organizations -- to implement policies that restrict the use of high-carbon items and encourage the adoption of low-carbon emission products.

If you manufacture or sell products to the EU region, your company will be affected by this new policy, which offers both profitable sales opportunities as well as enormous compliance challenges. The EU's "transition to a low-carbon society" could boost sales for manufacturers of electric and hybrid vehicles but crimp revenue for companies involved in oil exploration, production, and distribution.
The EU's policy is spelled out in "Roadmap for moving to a competitive low carbon economy in 2050," which "shows how the sectors responsible for Europe's emissions -- power generation, industry, transport, buildings and construction, as well as agriculture -- can make the transition to a low-carbon economy over the coming decades."

The EU makes the case as follows:

The key driver for this transition will be energy efficiency. By 2050, the energy sector, households and business could reduce their energy consumption by around 30 percent compared to 2005, while enjoying more and better energy services at the same time. More locally produced energy would be used, mostly from renewable sources. As a result, the EU would be less dependent on expensive imports of oil and gas from outside the EU and our economies would be less vulnerable to increasing oil prices. On average, the EU could save 175 billion to 320 billion Euros annually on fuel costs over the next forty years. The transition to clean technologies and electric cars will drastically reduce air pollution in European cities. Fewer people would suffer from asthma and other respiratory diseases; considerably less money would need to be spent on health care and on equipment to control air pollution. By 2050, the EU could save up to 88 billion [Euros] a year.