UE Delays 2040 Climate Target Release until “ before summer ” – Politico

“I can only speculate that Mr. Hoekstra does it to bring other ideas of bad ideas in target design – such as the inclusion of credits (international carbon),” said Wölken. “It would open up huge gaps instead of allowing programs at home.”

Green deputies also told Politico that they would reject the use of these credits, which would finance climate projects abroad and allow EU countries to count reduced emissions to their own objectives.

Hoekstra said the trade war, launched overnight by US President Donald Trump, would have other harmful effects on climate effort.

“What is clearly done is (it is) making a very difficult geopolitical context even more difficult, which makes an economic context not easier even more difficult and puts pressure on the entire international cooperation system,” he said, but added that “whatever the commercial conversation with all its ramifications, we can continue the trajectory that I had already undertaken”.

The 2040 climate objective has a major impact on the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (CCNUCC) in Brazil later this year. All countries should submit objectives for 2035 before this summit and the objective of the EU is considered to be a reference to put pressure on other major transmitters, especially China.

Hoekstra only said that it was “optimistic” that the EU would respect a revised deadline from the September UN.

“Beyond reputation damage to the status of Europe as a climate leader, this also endangers the CCNUCC process,” said Wölken.

This article has been updated.