The cost of decarbonizing Europe

The European Commission has a plan to achieve the kind of cuts necessary to avoid dangerous climate change:

Europe has set a goal of reducing emissions by 80-95% by 2050. The road map is its first stab at sharing out the cuts… The commission says the investment required to decarbonise power would average about €30 billion ($42 billion) a year over 40 years. This is one of the cheaper parts of the plan; the total cost is about €270 billion a year, with €80 billion going on buildings and appliances and €150 billion on transport. But the commission’s modelling also points to savings on fuel costs, which are low for nuclear and zero for most renewables, of between €175 billion and €320 billion. Other benefits include more energy security and cleaner air.

It’s a massive investment, but it needs to be done, and fossil fuels are expensive too.

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