Brussels, november 25 - The European think tank "Confrontations
Europe" held a debate Wednesday the 25th of November on the transition to a greener economy, a great challenge for our future. The European Economic and
Social Committee’s (EESC) Jacques Delors building hosted several
stakeholders, including EESC’s president and a representative of the European
Commission. They discussed the possibility of a disruptive impact on employment
of moving to a low-carbon economy.
The transition of a fossil fuel dominated economy to a more
environmentally friendly energy mix has been raising a lot of attention the
last year. A cleaner economy should contribute to reducing greenhouse gas
emissions, thus keeping the danger of global warming under control. In the
first week of December, more than 190 countries are gathering in Paris where
they hope to come to a legally binding agreement that keeps global warming
below the critical 2°C. This will have, without a doubt, consequences for the
European industry and economy.
The European Commission has already taken its responsibility and
launched the EU2030 energy strategy one year ago. This framework includes three
EU-wide targets: reducing greenhouse gas emissions with 40% (compared with
1990), at least 27% of energy consumption should come from renewables and there
should be a reduction of energy use with at least 27%. “The perspective of the
Commission is driven by three objectives. We want more energy security, a more
competitive energy sector and a more sustainable energy system”, said Marten
Westrup, team leader at the Directorate-General Energy (the European equivalent
of a national ministry of energy) of the European Commission.
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