Summarised by Centrist
The ambitious net-zero transition targets in Europe, the UK, and the US are facing challenges.
“There appears to be a divorce between climate targets and reality. In fact, this divorce has been a hallmark of transition efforts, which have seen governments make ever more ambitious pledges regardless of what it is possible to do within the physical constraints of the world we live in,” writes columnist Irina Slav.
Slav sums up the situation by saying, “the physical world, the free market, and the energy transition are not really compatible right now.”
Recent reports reveal that Italy, France, and Germany are falling short of the EU’s emission reduction goals, with Germany likely to miss its 2030 target by 10%.
In the UK, the country is expected to generate only 44% of its electricity from wind and solar by 2030, far below the necessary 67%. Similarly, the US is projected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 32-43% by 2030, missing its 50% target.
These setbacks illustrate the difficulties in aligning climate goals with practical realities, despite substantial government funding and subsidies.
