NGOs rebuke EU leaders over celebrations of new target to cut carbon emissions by 2030.

“This is a good day for people and planet,” a masked-up Frans Timmermans tweeted on Wednesday at 5am from Brussels.

Timmermans, who leads the European Commission’s work on the Green Deal, has been one of the most prominent voices behind the EU’s efforts to raise its 2030 carbon emissions reduction target from 40 to 55%. So, it came as no surprise when, following a provisional agreement with national governments, he hailed the news as “a landmark moment for the EU and a strong signal to the world.” “Our commitment to climate neutrality will guide our policies the next 30 years,” he said

If only…

Campaigners were quick to rebuke Timmermans’ celebratory tone. Describing the agreement as a “farce”, the European Environmental Bureau’s climate expert Barbara Mariani said that a net -55% emissions target is way below what science requires, and not enough to limit temperature rise to 1.5°C as agreed under the Paris Agreement.

“Scientific evidence clearly shows that a 65% target for 2030 is needed to avoid the worst consequences of climate breakdown and guarantee a safe future for millions of young Europeans,” Mariani argued.

The EEB also argued against the European Council’s rejection of a proposal to extend the EU’s climate neutrality target to all member states, something that “risks triggering lack of accountability at national level and creating a two-speed Europe in which some countries will inevitably lag behind.”

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