BRUSSELS — Voting for a weaker climate target means weakening the EU’s economy, the European Commission’s second-in-command warned ministers ahead of a key summit.
Teresa Ribera, the EU executive’s vice president in charge of the green transition, told environment ministers to support an ambitious emissions-cutting goal on Tuesday.
“Delaying climate action or lowering our ambition below the required trajectory is an invitation to waste money and miss investment opportunities. It is a sign of weakness and incoherence — with enormous economic and human costs,” she said in a statement.
“I call on the environment ministers who will gather tomorrow … to back true European competitiveness: socially responsible and environmentally consistent.”
On Tuesday, the 27 environment ministers gather in Brussels to hammer out a deal on the bloc’s new climate target for 2040, but on the eve of their meeting there is no certainty that they can reach an agreement.
The Commission wants the bloc to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent below 1990 levels until 2040. To get enough governments onboard, the EU executive suggested outsourcing up to 3 percentage points of this target — allowing the bloc to pay other countries to cut pollution on its behalf by purchasing so-called carbon credits.
This change wasn’t enough to convince a sufficient number of governments, however, and ministers will discuss on Tuesday whether to increase the share of carbon credits.
Offshoring more emissions cuts would allow EU industry and households to reduce pollution at a slower pace, but the bloc’s scientific advisors have warned this would divert cash away from much-needed investments in domestic climate efforts.
Ministers will also discuss introducing clauses asking the Commission to revise the target downward if economic conditions worsen or certain sub-targets cannot be met.
Both higher credit use and wide-ranging revision clauses would open the door to a weaker goal, even ministers leave the headline figure of 90 percent untouched on Tuesday.
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