On Tuesday 6 February in Strasbourg, MEPs reacted to the European Commission’s communication on a 90% reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 as an interim target before carbon neutrality in 2050.
As the debate on the measures in the European Green Deal intensifies in the run-up to the European elections, recently reinforced by farmers’ protests, the political groups have stated their clear-cut positions on the subject.
The European Commissioner for Climate Action, Wopke Hoekstra, pointed out that the Commission’s Communication on the 2040 target set out a direction and aimed to initiate dialogue within the Chamber, but also within civil society and industry.
“Tackling the climate crisis is a marathon. 2040 seems far away, but the sooner we start planning, the sooner we start working toward it, the better equipped we are to continue (...) and to do this we need to make sure that we have a balanced approach so that everyone can cross the finish line”, he said.
Pascal Canfin (Renew Europe, French) welcomed a 90% target “based on science”, but pointed out that one condition for success was appropriate funding, giving the example of Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act in the United States, which aims to mobilise hundreds of billions of dollars over 10 years to promote green industry.
Mohammed Chahim (S&D, Dutch), for his part, called for a steady pace of emissions reductions to be maintained, in particular to avoid a “widening gap” in the green transition of the economy with countries such as China.
For Peter Liese (EPP, German), it is essential to take account of farmers demands and to have them as partners, given that agriculture is a key sector for removing a significant proportion of CO2 from the atmosphere.
Mr Canfin also asked to stop targeting farmers and to not forget “the rest of the value chain, such as distributors and processors, who are not subject to any rules”; in this respect, he welcomed the Commission’s communication in which certain constraints specifically targeting the agricultural sector were finally removed (see other news).
“You have swept (the problem of farmers) under the carpet, but you cannot say that the problem has disappeared”, said Bas Eickhout (Greens/EFA, Dutch).
He reiterated as well his group’s position, which wants to see carbon neutrality by 2040 instead of 2050, and criticised the European Commission’s emphasis on carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) to achieve the 2040 target.
On this point, Commissioner Hoekstra has asked us to “look beyond ideological positions”, said Mr Eickhout. “This is part of the solution, especially in the hard to abate sectors (...) Even if CCUS is only a small part of the equation, it must be taken into account”. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)