In 2014, the leaders of the 28 countries of the European Union came to a difficult compromise on combating climate change – agreeing to make greenhouse gas emissions 40% lower than 1990 levels by 2030.
Now, some of those countries say new data and Europe’s alarming heat wave this summer mean that target should be raised to 45%.
Miguel Arias Cañete, the EU’s energy chief, said earlier this month that he will put forward just such a proposal in September, following a request in June from 14 EU countries including France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
Some of these countries want to raise the target to as much as 55%.
In his request drafted to present to all 28 national energy ministers in September, Cañete says that with new EU laws due to shortly take effect, the 45% target will be reached anyway.
The new laws, more ambitious than what was envisioned in 2014, will require an increase in energy efficiency of 32.5% and a 32% share of renewable energy by 2030.
“Based upon our calculation models, we should de facto achieve a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 45% within the EU,” he told German news agency DPA. “In any case, the EU is taking a tough line in view of the forthcoming discussions around the most ambitious objectives during the world climate conference in Katowice.”
Cañete wants to see the EU target increased before all the countries of the world meet in Katowice, Poland in December to discuss agreeing a rulebook for the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global temperature rise to less than two degrees Celsius by 2050. He hopes the EU’s increase will inspire other governments to do the same.
Merkel Waffles
Though Germany was one of the original signatories of the letter asking for an increase, following significant pressure from German industry, Chancellor Angela Merkel has changed her tune.
Asked this weekend about the proposal to raise the target, Merkel told the German program Tageschau that she is opposed. “I am not so happy about the new proposals because many member states today do not comply with what they have already promised,” she said “We should first reach the goals we have already set. I don’t think that constantly setting new targets makes sense.”
Her comments came just a few days after the Federation of German Industries (BDI) came out with a statement strongly opposing the idea to raise the target. “Stricter EU climate goals bring nothing,” wrote BDI Deputy Director Holger Lösch.“We reject the idea of the EU going it alone. Instead of talking about ever more ambitious goals, it is imperative now to focus on the tools with which the existing goals can be achieved.”
With her rejection Merkel joins a bloc of leaders from coal-reliant Eastern European countries, led by Poland, which is opposed to more ambitious EU climate targets.
By tradition, such high-level climate targets are usually decided by unanimity in the EU They can be set only by a weighted majority vote if desired, but such votes are difficult to win without Germany, which has the largest voting power in the EU.
In her interview, Merkel indicated she may be open to persuasion for raising the target, particularly after this year’s abnormally hot summer which has created public pressure for action on climate change. The extreme weather events and hot summer “show that climate change is taking place not just somewhere in Africa, the Arctic or Antarctica, but also here with us,” she said.
