EC Must Spend Billions More for Carbon Neutrality: Sefcovic

The European Union will have to spend between €175bn ($200bn) and €290bn more each year in order to achieve a net zero greenhouse gas economy, said vice-president of the European Commission, Maros Sefcovic, in a speech November 28. This is more than the public sector can provide alone, but he promised incentives to ensure that both the private sector and the financial system will contribute.

On the positive side, the EU will save on fossil fuel imports, energy efficiency and health problems caused by air pollution, he said. And economic growth does not require emissions: "From 1990 to 2017, energy use was reduced by almost 2%, greenhouse gas emissions by 22%, while our GDP grew by 58%," he said.

He said the EU was the first major economy to present its strategy for economic and societal transformation – involving all sectors – that could lead to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and energy plays a central role adding that it accounts for over three quarters of the EU's greenhouse gas emissions. More than four fifths of EU electricity consumption will come from renewables by 2050, he predicted.

"This will pay off and bring down our fossil fuel imports from 55% to 20% – as a result, we will save €2-3 trillion after 2030. Instead of paying third countries for energy that we only burn, we can invest in modern, cleaner industry that provide high quality local jobs. We will be stepping up renovation of our buildings and heat them with renewable energy, instead of polluting fossil fuels," he said.