Report: 'green economy' to save EU households 2,000 dollars a year

Apr 13, 2010, 14:36 GMT

   Brussels - Households in the European Union are set to save around 2,000 dollars a year each if targets to reduce greenhouse emissions by 80-95 per cent by 2050 are met, an environmental think tank claimed Tuesday.

   In a report launched in Brussels, the European Climate Foundation (ECF) said that 'achieving at least 80-per-cent reduction in 2050 based on zero carbon power generation in Europe is technically feasible and makes compelling economic sense.'

   The paper found that by investing in energy efficiency, renewable sources of energy, smart grids and emission-mitigating technologies such as carbon capture and storage (CCS), unit costs of electricity would rise by 10-15 per cent in 2010-2050, but the overall cost of energy would fall by 20-30 per cent.

   'The benefit ... is equivalent to a lower total cost of energy of 350 billion euros (475 billion dollars) per year by 2050, or 1,500 euros (2,000 dollars) per year per household,' the report said.

   The EU is currently committed to reducing its emissions by 20 per cent by 2020. Its members are split on the need to up the target to 30 per cent in order to make sure that the 2050 objectives remain achievable.

   The ECF said that investment in energy infrastructure needed to meet the 2050 climate targets would have to double - from a current level of 30 billion euros a year - to 65 billion euros a year.

   But that assumes implementation over the next 15 years. If action were to be delayed by 10 years, the bill would go up to 90 billion euros a year, the group said.

   'Realistically, the 2050 goals will be hard to realize if the transition is not started in earnest within the next five years,' ECF warned.