How setting climate objectives can ensure tomorrow’s growth

A comment by Bertrand Piccard ahead of COP 30 in Brazil

As the European Union’s Member States prepare to negotiate their energy and climate targets for 2040- building on the 2030 objectives and serving as a stepping stone toward the 2050 carbon neutrality goal set by the Paris Agreement - more than 300 companies and organizations have united to issue a strong call on Europe’s leaders to ensure investment certainty by adopting a robust industrial, energy and climate framework for 2040 by this summer.

Fritz Lietsch, Editor in Chief Forum(l.) and Bertrand Piccard, Ambassador for clean technologies(r.) © Fritz Lietsch

Member States are concerned about the massive investment needs required from both industries and households to meet these targets. It is true that significant amounts of public and private capital will need to be mobilized, and that a collective effort will be required. But isn’t investing in renewable and efficient solutions the best kind of investment- especially now that the return on investment is becoming shorter- to tackle the issues of energy prices, business competitiveness, security of supply, and job creation. Don’t we urgently need to modernize our infrastructures to make them more efficient and therefore less costly in the future?

The objective of the energy-climate package is not to be limited to decarbonizing our economy. Previous climate targets, set for 2020 and 2030, have shown that it is possible to achieve multiple objectives at once. Decarbonization is now a tool for economic growth and improved energy security.

By setting ambitious targets, Member States push their industries and citizens to invest in future-oriented sectors and to modernize their production systems or homes. By proposing a continuation of the 2020 and 2030 targets, aligned with the 2050 carbon neutrality objective, governments send a clear signal to markets and households: invest with confidence- Europe’s future will be clean and efficient!

By setting ambitious targets, Member States also create a market and demand for their own industries. In fact, Europe is currently a global leader in energy efficiency solutions, with a European market estimated at €150 billion and 1.2 million jobs. An enabling framework must be established to back these investments and ensure they effectively sustain the competitiveness of businesses and the purchasing power of households. Innovative financing solutions must also be developed to ensure that everyone can access these opportunities. New business models will need to be designed to foster growth based on what is clean and efficient, rather than on what pollutes and wastes.

Setting clear targets for greenhouse gas emissions reduction, renewables and energy efficiency will be essential to ensure Europe can achieve industrial expansion in future-proof sectors.

Bertrand Piccard is a psychiatrist and a pioneer of clean technology, best known for flying around the world in a solar-powered plane. Through his Solar Impulse Foundation, he promotes profitable solutions to drive the shift to a zero-carbon economy.

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