EU faces lawsuits over emissions rules, 'green' label for planes

Environmental campaigners have taken the European Commission to court, seeking to force Brussels to upgrade its emissions rules for 2030 and, in a second case, scrap rules that label some planes as climate-friendly investments. In a case before the Court of Justice of the European Union's General Court, non-profit groups Climate Action Network and the Global Legal Action Network argue that national limits on greenhouse gas emissions for sectors such as transport and agriculture are unlawful. The campaigners said on Tuesday the thresholds would fail to cut Europe's planet-heating emissions fast enough to meet the Paris Agreement's goal to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (about 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels. A European Commission spokesperson declined to comment on ongoing legal proceedings. The limits, which require EU member states to cut their emissions in those sectors between 10% and 50% from 2005 levels, contribute to the EU's overall goal of reducing net emissions 55% by 2030, in relation to 1990 levels. Scientists say the world's emissions need to roughly halve by 2030 to have a shot at limiting warming to 1.5C. Campaigners argue wealthy, large historical polluters like the EU should be moving faster than that. The court has given the case priority status, meaning it could be heard in 2025. A second case, filed by five campaign groups to the EU's General Court on Tuesday, seeks to force Brussels to revise rules adding aviation to the EU's "taxonomy", a list of investments labelled green and therefore eligible to receive green finance from investors and banks.<br/>