The more than 200-page report from McKinsey & Company, published on Thursday, attempts to answer the question of what it would take for the European Union to reach its goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050; a goal now shared by an ever growing list of nations from all corners of the globe.

After a comprehensive research effort analysing the optimal uses of more than 600 emissions-reduction levers in 75 sub-sectors and 10 regions and assessing their impact on employment and other socioeconomic factors, the report essentially finds that the more ambitious the net-zero targets, the lower the cost to reach them.

That is to say, Europe can reach net-zero emissions by 2050 at net-zero cost, while also creating 5 million new jobs and making the EU more or less energy independent...