Decarbonisation and climate change: looking ahead

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, we focus the issue of
decarbonisation and the fight against climate change.


Decarbonisation is at the heart of EU energy and climate policy.
And the recent ratification of the Paris Agreement makes
decarbonisation targets some of the EU’s most important
international commitments.


Progress towards the 2020 targets has been impressive. But the
2020 framework is now being replaced by new targets. The EU wants
an 80-95 percent reduction in emissions by 2050, with an
intermediate target of 40 percent by 2030.


We asked Simone Tagliapietra, Research Fellow at Bruegel, what
progress the EU has already made towards its climate targets and
what will change with the new emission targets.


We also spoke with Georg Zachmann, Senior Research Fellow at
Bruegel, about the recent drop in Europe’s greenhouse gas
emissions and the future of EU’s emission trading scheme.


Lászlo Varro, chief economist at the International Energy Agency,
shared his insights on which energy sources will be most
important in the future.


We discussed with Connie Hedegaard, former European Commissioner
for Climate Action, which other sectors need to be prioritised in
the fight against climate change.


SPEAKERS Simone Tagliapietra, Research Fellow, Bruegel Georg
Zachmann, Senior Fellow, Bruegel Lászlo Varro, Chief Economist,
International Energy Agency Connie Hedegaard, former European
Commissioner for Climate Action


CREDITS Presented by Antonija Parat and Bryn Watkins Produced by
Vanessa Cotterell and Bryn Watkins