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1.By 1 January 2020, and subsequently by 1 January 2029 and every 10 years thereafter, each Member State shall prepare and submit to the Commission its long-term strategy with a perspective of at least 30 years. Member States should, where necessary, update those strategies every five years.
2.In aiming to achieve the overall climate objectives referred to in paragraph 3, the Commission shall, by 1 April 2019, adopt a proposal for a Union long-term strategy for greenhouse gas emissions reduction in accordance with the Paris Agreement, taking into account the Member States' draft integrated national energy and climate plans. The long-term strategy referred to in this paragraph shall include an analysis covering at least:
(a)various scenarios for the Union's contribution towards the objectives set out in paragraph 3 inter alia a scenario on achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions within the Union by 2050 and negative emissions thereafter;
(b)the implications of the scenarios referred to in point (a) on the remaining global and Union carbon budget in order to inform a discussion about cost efficiency, effectiveness and fairness of greenhouse gas emission reduction.
3.The Member States' and the Union's long-term strategies shall contribute to:
(a)fulfilling the Union's and the Member States' commitments under the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement to reduce anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and enhance removals by sinks and to promote increased carbon sequestration;
(b)fulfilling the objective of the Paris Agreement of holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1,5 °C above pre-industrial levels;
(c)achieving long-term greenhouse gas emission reductions and enhancements of removals by sinks in all sectors in accordance with the Union's objective, in the context of necessary reductions according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to reduce the Union's greenhouse gas emissions in a cost-effective manner and enhance removals by sinks in pursuit of the temperature goals in the Paris Agreement so as to achieve a balance between anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases within the Union as early as possible and, as appropriate, achieve negative emissions thereafter;
(d)a highly energy efficient and highly renewables-based energy system within the Union.
4.Member States' long-term strategies should contain the elements set out in Annex IV. Furthermore, the Member States' and the Union's long-term strategies shall cover:
(a)total greenhouse gas emission reductions and enhancements of removals by sinks;
(b)emission reductions and enhancements of removals in individual sectors, including electricity, industry, transport, the heating and cooling and buildings sector (residential and tertiary), agriculture, waste and land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF);
(c)expected progress on transition to a low greenhouse gas emission economy, including greenhouse gas intensity, CO2 intensity of gross domestic product, related estimates of long-term investment, and strategies for related research, development and innovation;
(d)to the extent feasible, expected socio-economic effect of the decarbonisation measures, including, inter alia, aspects related to macro-economic and social development, health risks and benefits and environmental protection;
(e)links to other national long-term objectives, planning and other policies and measures, and investment.
5.The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 43 in order to amend Annex IV for the purpose of adapting it to the developments in the Union long-term strategy or in the Union Energy and Climate policy framework that are directly and specifically related to the relevant decisions adopted under the UNFCCC and, in particular, under the Paris Agreement.
6.The integrated national energy and climate plans shall be consistent with the long-term strategies referred to in this Article.
7.Member States and the Commission shall inform and make available to the public forthwith their respective long-term strategies and any updates thereof, including by means of the e-platform referred in Article 28. Member States and the Commission shall make relevant data of the final results available to the public, taking into account commercially sensitive data and compliance with the data protection rules.
8.The Commission shall support Member States in the preparation of their long-term strategies by providing information on the state of the underlying scientific knowledge and opportunities for sharing knowledge and best practices, including, where relevant, guidance for Member States during the development and implementation phase of their strategies.
9.The Commission shall assess whether the national long-term strategies are adequate for the collective achievement of the objectives and targets of the Energy Union set out in Article 1 and shall provide information on any remaining collective gap.
Given the high global warming potential and relatively short atmospheric lifetime of methane, the Commission shall analyse the implications for implementing policies and measures for the purpose of reducing the short- and middle-term impact of methane emissions on Union greenhouse gas emissions. Taking into account the circular economy objectives as appropriate, the Commission shall consider policy options for rapidly addressing methane emissions and shall put forward a Union strategic plan for methane as an integral part of the Union's long-term strategy referred to in Article 15.