EU commissioner defends EU climate ambitions despite setbacks

Brussels (dpa) – European Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra on Thursday defended the European Union’s role in fighting climate change, despite a delay to two key decisions.

“We continue to be amongst the absolutely most ambitious at a global stage,” he said, arriving at a meeting of EU environment ministers in Brussels.

EU countries have been unable to agree on a binding contribution to United Nations climate protection targets for 2035 or on a new emissions reduction law for the bloc for 2040. Votes on the two issues had been planned for this week.

“I’m truly confident that the leadership role that we have played in the past will continue also this year and beyond,” Hoekstra said.

The UN targets are part of the Paris Agreement on fighting climate change and should have been agreed ahead of a high-level meeting on Wednesday in New York. EU climate ministers are expected to agree on a statement of intent instead of binding targets.

Hoekstra said that he is “positive” that the EU can agree on ambitious targets in time for COP30, the UN’s annual climate summit, in November in the Brazilian city of Belém.

The EU has previously set itself the goal to become climate-neutral by 2050, but the bloc has so far been unable to agree to a greenhouse gas emissions reduction target for 2040 to continue the path to net zero emissions.

EU leaders are expected to continue to debate the issue at an upcoming summit in Brussels in October.

“We move forward, two steps forward, one step back,” the commissioner said. (18 September)