EU 2040 Climate Target Agreement falls short of expectations say Greens
Reacting to the news this morning that environment ministers had agreed a position on the EU’s 2040 climate targets, the Green Party has said the agreement lacks ambition, clarity and commitment to climate protection.
As negotiations in Brussels went to the wire, the Environment Council agreed in the early hours of the morning to stick to the EU Commission's proposed target of a 90 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. However, it is now calling for member states to be allowed to outsource five per cent of this to countries outside the EU through EU-funded climate projects.
Criticising this shifting of climate protection and investments, potentially worth around €100 billion, to countries outside the EU, the Green Party said today that it will result in reduced investment in climate projects within the EU.
Green Party Leader, Roderic O’Gorman TD said: “Along with our colleagues in Europe, the Green Party is relieved to see that the Council has at least agreed to achieving a 90 per cent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2040, which was a key Green demand. With COP 30 getting underway in Brazil next week, it was vital that they would go into those negotiations with a climate target.
“But while it is a step forward, the resulting agreement falls short of our expectations in terms of the clarity of the position they’ve agreed and the scale of their ambition. The outsourcing clause represents a significant watering down of the EU’s own climate goals, and there’s additional wiggle room for it to be further weakened in the future.
“The fact that the EU is going into a major international climate conference next week with just a declaration of intent for 2035 instead of a concrete figure is just one point of concern for us - it shows a lack of commitment to climate action at a time when we need to be showing real leadership.”
Green Party spokesperson for Climate Ossian Smyth said: “A 90 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions is the absolute minimum that Europe should be aiming for in the fight against the climate crisis, but the Green Party is concerned that the concessions made to reach an agreement will come at a high price for EU countries. The financing of climate projects outside the EU could cost more than 100 billion euros. That money would be better spent on investments within the EU, on climate actions that improve people’s quality of life.
“We could be lowering people’s bills for heat and electricity, greening our communities and improving public transport, and we know that every euro we invest in climate action today will save us up to ten euros in follow-up costs if we do nothing.”
