European Court of Auditors scathing about European climate policy: no evidence of effectiveness of expensive measures.
From one of our correspondents.
The EU's achievement of its 2020 climate and energy targets was partly due to external factors such as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, which led to a reduction in emissions. The ECA's auditors doubt whether the EU will be successful in its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030% by 55 compared to 1990 levels. Indeed, they have found little evidence that the measures to meet the 2030 climate and energy targets will be sufficient. These are the main conclusions of a special report published yesterday by the European Court of Auditors.
In October 2022, the Commission reported that the EU had met its three climate and energy targets for 2020. According to the auditors, this success was not only due to the EU's climate action. For example, they note that the EU-27 would most likely not have met its 2020 energy efficiency target without the lower energy consumption resulting from the 2009 financial crisis and the coronavirus pandemic. However, the EU's assessment of its green performance does not clarify the impact of external factors.
This makes it difficult for citizens and stakeholders to determine whether the EU is pursuing its overall goals in a cost-effective manner and to draw lessons for the upcoming 2030 targets.
The auditors also found a lack of transparency on how EU Member States achieved their binding national targets through flexible arrangements. For example, some EU countries contributed less than expected and used other means to meet their targets, such as buying emission allocations or shares of renewable energy from other Member States that had exceeded their targets. The auditors found little information on the real costs of achieving the targets for the EU budget, national budgets and the private sector, nor on the actions that proved successful. This makes it difficult for citizens and stakeholders to determine whether the EU is pursuing its overall goals in a cost-effective manner and to draw lessons for the upcoming 2030 targets.
https://www.climategate.nl/2023/06/europese-rekenkamer-vernietigend-over-europees-klimaatbeleid-geen-bewijs-voor-effectiviteit-van-dure-maatregelen/
