To:
President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen
Executive Vice President of the European Commission, Maroš Šefčovič
European Commissioner, Wopke Hoekstra
President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola
President of the European Council, Charles Michel
Prime Minister of Belgium, Alexander De Croo
Belgium Federal Minister of Climate, Environment, Sustainable Development and the
Green Deal, Zakia Khattabi
Flanders Minister for Justice and Enforcement, Environment and Spatial Development,
Energy and Tourism, Zuhal Demir
Wallonia Vice President and Minister of Climate, Energy, Mobility and Infrastructure,
Philippe Henry
Minister of the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region, responsible for Climate
Change, Environment, Energy and Participatory Democracy, Alain Maron
2 February 2024
EREF and its members, national renewable energy associations from across Europe, urge you to suggest and support a 95% EU 2040 Greenhouse Gas reduction target, following the recommendations put forward by the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change to reduce net emissions by at least 90-95% until 2040 (relative to 1990 levels).
This needs to go hand in hand with 2035 and 2040 targets for renewable energies and energy efficiency to ensure the effective and consequent decarbonisation of Europe’s economies.
EREF underlines that the recently revised target levels for renewables are still not sufficient to reach our goals. The commitment to triple the global installed renewable energy capacity by 2030 which is part of the final COP 28 declaration is an important step in the right direction, which now must be translated into concrete EU actions, such as ambitious renewable energy targets that go beyond the existing 2030 target of 42.5%.
The visible and growing impact of severe climate disasters, analysed and evaluated by numerous scientific studies, clearly demonstrate that our planet is very likely to experience higher temperatures, happening much sooner than most had expected. Irreversible tipping-points are reached much faster than science had predicted until only a few years ago. 2023 was confirmed to have been the hottest year for probably around 100,000 years, and some scientists predict that the 1.5°C limit may already be exceeded in 2024. This underlines the urgency of a much higher climate ambition and much faster decarbonisation pathways.
We thank you in advance to take this urgent call into due account and remain at your disposal to further discuss options that can deliver the inclusive and sustainable transition to climate neutrality.
With best wishes,
Martin Bursik
EREF President
Prof. Dr. Dörte Fouquet
EREF Director