EU Climate Policy Tracker 2011 : Summary Report

Abstract

Limiting the rise in the average global temperature to 2°C has been the EU goal since 1996, and in December 2010 the UN recognised the need to consider a 1.5°C limit. Avoiding overshooting these levels will require massive emissions reductions – in the order of 80-95% for industrialised countries, like those in the EU. The next ten years are crucial in establishing whether society will be able to make this transition, or whether temperature increase limits will be irreversibly missed.