Letter for Ursule von der Leyen: Interim climate targets for 2040
Dear President von der Leyen,
In the coming days, the European Commission plans to propose a roadmap for an interim climate target by 2040.
While the original conditions for your intention to set an additional climate target for 2040 have significantly changed, based on recent global developments, we are convinced that it is no longer in the interest of the EU, its Member States and, above all, European citizens to take further action in this direction.
Over the last three years, an ambitious package of climate legislation has been proposed and agreed by the co-legislators, notably the development of a general framework for a 2050 climate neutrality target and the introduction of the so-called 'Fit for 55' package aimed at achieving an interim climate target by 2030. And it has to be said that this package and other related legislation have prioritised virtual climate ambition at the expense of social and economic aspects. Economic and social actors have serious concerns that this package does not correspond to the new global reality and poses a major risk to EU competitiveness, social reconsiliation and the cohesion of EU regions.
The world has changed since 2019. The Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine have highlighted the need to strengthen the EU's strategic autonomy. Europe is slowly losing its competitiveness and remains heavily over-regulated. A weak Europe will not be able to achieve climate neutrality in 2050 and will certainly not catch up with other global players.
In this situation, we believe that introducing new targets and new legislation at this stage would only further restrict EU Member States from pursuing their own path to the 2050 headline target and discourage more businesses from doing business in the EU.
On the contrary, we believe as a first step the legislation developed in recent years shall be reassessed in order to understand its real impact on different Member States, sectors and sustainable development in the EU, and of course, to make the necessary revisions on that basis.
We therefore urge you to avoid proposing any significant new targets or legislation, including those relating to the EU's planned climate target for 2040. It is time to rethink and reconsider to make sure that our common future path is the right one.
Any new strategic decision shall only be made by the new Commission, confirmed and mandated after the upcoming EU elections.
Ondřej Knotek, ANO/Renew Europe
Martin Hlaváček, ANO/ Renew Europe
Ondřej Kovařík, ANO/Renew Europe
