Hoekstra Under Fire: Brussels drags with climate goals 2040

The European Commission is struggling with finding support to implement the intended climate goals for 2040. While the committee proposed the objective at the beginning of last year to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases by 90 percent net compared to 1990, that aim is still not made hard. This must be the prelude to the European goal to be climate neutral by 2050.

At an extraordinary meeting of the Environmental Committee of the European Parliament on Monday, the growing political unrest could be felt about this. The Austrian MEP Lena Schilling, from Die Grüne Alternative, addressed European Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra: « You asked last year for our support (to be chosen as a European Commissioner) and agreed to the 90-all-procedure. It is now May 2025, but there is still no concrete proposal. »

In April it leaked that the Commission is considering counting international carbon credits to achieve the climate objective for 2040. Domestic industries that do not know how to meet the set standard of 90 percent may compensate for this with the ‘Carbon Credits’. Critics are afraid that such a compensation scheme the efforts to c0₂ to be reduced within Europe. Schilling, bright: « This opens the Pandora box. »

D66 Europe Parliamentarian Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy is also ‘alerted’. “The European Commission must intervene immediately. Every Ton Co.₂ That now goes up in the air, lingers for years and causes hard damage. You don’t catch up on that just before the deadline. Disasters such as in Valencia are becoming increasingly regular. ”

‘Undermining mission’

Gerbrandy sent a letter letter to Hoekstra last Friday, who is responsible for climate as a European Commissioner, zero And clean growth, in which he reproaches Hoekstra « not to act strictly, despite the flagrant and massive undermining of his mission. » Gerbrandy points to the « collective shortcoming of many member states, ranging against a background of the increasingly visible consequences of climate change for Europe ».

Gerbrandy mentions the weakened climate and energy plans of the Dutch government- where the 2030 goals are probably not achieved -In addition to failing plans of eleven other EU countries (including France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Austria, Denmark, Finland and Ireland) and three countries (Belgium, Poland and Estonia) that have not even submitted any climate plans at all.

« Economic predictions are that climate damage in the Netherlands could rise to between 7 and 17 percent of GDP – a potential economic disruption that threatens the foundations of our prosperity. This is the country whose government does too little, » said Gerbrandy, which encourages strong enforcement from Brussels.

The criticism of the delay and negligence of the committee often comes from the left corner and the center, which is strongly based on scientific climate predictions. Under Commission-von der Leyen I, those politicians had brought the green wind, now the political focus has shifted from sustainability to competitiveness. Right -wing politicians believe that the competitive capacity of Europe should be paramount, even if that touches on climate goals in the short term.

« The thresholds and deadlines for the energy-intensive industrial sectors are often unrealistic, » said Czech MEP Jana Nagyová, member of the European Patriots. « There are serious worries about excessive regulatory pressure and unclear criteria for subsidizing projects, causing investments to be slowed down and the objectives of the Clean Industrial Deal are undermined. »

France is a crossbar

Holding on the previously outlined climate goals is politically « difficult » in the European Council, a well -informed source outlines the committee that can only talk about it on a background base. According to the source, France has become a « hefty crossbar ». This involves worrying about the loss of economic stability (thinking from competitive capacity) and on the right political sentiment, where climate is not high on the agenda.

But something else is playing: the French argue for the recognition of nuclear energy as an important component in Co₂-Making the economy neutral, while the current EU guidelines focus primarily on wind and solar energy in the spectrum of renewable energy.

Also Poland, which is committed to the presidential elections of 18 May, does not want the EU climate goals to « become a stick to hit » for the right-wing-conservative opposition party Pis, according to the source.

As Hoekstra itself said during the extraordinary environmental meeting about the postponement of the climate bill: « We must have the proverbial plane landed, but the political landing zone is still being worked on. » He states that « flexibilisation » of the climate goals is not unthinkable.

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