Published 11.02
The record heat is like a pot lid over the EU’s meeting of environment ministers in Luxembourg.
Nevertheless, many countries are calling for fewer – not more – efforts for the climate.
Although it is only morning in the EU quarters in Luxembourg, the temperature is already 29 degrees. And there will be more. The heat wave that is ravaging large parts of Western Europe has in many cases led to heat well over 40 degrees, closed schools, canceled trains and serious warnings to the population.
The crisis situation is also noticeable when the EU’s environment ministers meet. But here, the concern of many is not that too little is being done for the climate – but the opposite.
Countries such as Italy, the Czech Republic and Slovakia are worried about the car industry and are pushing for the EU to ease even more on already decided zero-emission rules for cars and vans from 2035.
– This sector accounts for 8 percent of the EU’s GDP and provides jobs for 13.5 million people. We need a better balance between the EU’s climate goals and the real social and economic situation, says Czech Filip Turek inside the meeting.
“A disservice”
Sweden belongs to the countries that resist.
– You are doing yourself a disservice if you slow down this type of change. This type of logic where you want to slow down electrification is bad for Europe, bad for our competitiveness and especially bad for Swedish companies, says Climate and Environment Minister Romina Pourmokhtari (L) on site in Luxembourg.
During the EU Parliament’s last term of office, 2019–2024, the EU was praised for pushing climate policy with its “green deal”, with lots of new measures.
Now, instead, you are criticized for having done wrong and too much – and that it is much more important to help the EU’s traditional industries to compete instead.
Abandoned emissions trading?
The battle is not just about future car emissions. Several of the countries in Eastern Europe are also pushing hard for more free allocations to heavy industry ahead of the upcoming update in July of the EU emissions trading system, ETS. Ideally, they even want to scrap the entire system and warn that public support for climate policy will be lost if the costs become too great.
EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra, on the other hand, sees the record heat outside as an additional means of pressure.
– The weather outside should rather lead us in a more ambitious direction than the other way around, says Hoekstra in Luxembourg.
Climate battles in the EU
In December, the European Commission put forward a proposal to relax already decided requirements for zero emissions from all new cars and vans from the year 2035.
Instead, it is proposed that manufacturers must meet a target of 90 percent tailpipe emission reductions, while the remaining 10 percent is allowed as long as manufacturers use more environmentally friendly steel, made in the EU, or with the help of e-fuels or biofuels.
However, the issue is deadlocked among EU countries, where some think the proposal goes too far, while others demand even more.
In parallel, an update to the EU system for trading emissions rights, ETS, is being prepared, which is due in mid-July.
