The UK government has said it will award hundreds of new North Sea oil and gas licenses to secure energy reserves while aiming for net zero credit. : ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP
“There is certainly a trend of some European politicians retreating from action on climate change,” said Mats Engström, senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank.
“Energy prices have been high and recent decisions on climate targets now have to be implemented in challenging sectors such as housing and transport,” Mr Engström said.
“We are fully aware of the calls for a slowdown in the economy. a green agenda and demands to avoid additional burdens on citizens and businesses,” Katja Rosenbohm, head of communications at the EU's European Environment Agency, told the Telegraph from Copenhagen.
“The war in Ukraine, as well as the cost of living crisis and The energy crisis has brought pressing new issues to the top of the political agenda, but we cannot talk about these issues without talking about the existential threats posed by climate change, biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse.”
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Silvia Pastorelli, Greenpeace EU climate change campaigner, said: “We are seeing a pattern of dishonesty from EU and UK politicians about who benefits from climate change and who pays for it.”
< p>“The real winners from our drafty homes and oil-burning cars are the fossil fuel giants, who are already making billions from this crisis.”
But the war in Ukraine has also accelerated the transition to renewable energy from Russian gas in Europe as the post-invasion continent began to shift away from Kremlin-controlled fossil fuels.
«There's rhetoric and then there's reality,» said Peter Chalkley. Director of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Department.
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“The pace of achieving net zero in Europe has accelerated over the past couple of years thanks to clean economics: renewable energy is now cheaper, and energy security concerns caused by dependence on Russian gas have helped sales of electric heat pumps soar.”< /p>
He added: “Coal levels are below pre-Covid levels and this, coupled with wind and solar generating more electricity than gas for the first time last year, means emissions are falling.”
Even so, policymakers across Europe are reconsidering their plans for net-zero emissions, something that seemed unthinkable before Russia's unprovoked attack on Ukraine.
France
Emmanuel Macron was president of France at the time of the UN summit that led to the signing of the Paris Agreement. climate change agreements in 2015.
He has since worn his green credentials on his sleeve as a point of pride.
But even Mr Macron is not immune to backlash over green rules after the war in Ukraine.
French activists hold upside-down portraits of Emmanuel Macron during a climate change protest in front of the Eiffel Tower. Photo: BENOIT TESSIER/REUTERS
On Sunday he announced that France would not ban gas boilers in homes because it would be unfair to people. in rural areas.
He said the French «love their cars and so do I» and announced a subsidy scheme for the rental of European-made electric vehicles for around €100 a month.
However, its failure to set a date for phasing out fossil fuels other than coal was called «disappointing» by environmental groups.
Germany
Berlin passed a relaxed «oil and gas boiler ban» after months of protests over the cost of new, environmentally friendly clean heating systems.
Germany's best-selling newspaper Bild launched a campaign against what it called the «heating hammer».
The law sparked a bitter fight among Olaf Scholz's SPD-led governing coalition and coincided with a record surge in support for the far-right AFD party.
The legislation has been amended so extensively that the bill will now cut only about three-quarters of pollutant emissions , which he sought as part of Berlin's ambition to achieve net-zero emissions by 2045.
European Union
The EU Green Deal is a package of legislation agreed in 2020 that aims to make Europe carbon neutral by 2050. But its policies are coming under increasingly fierce attack ahead of European Parliament elections next year.
In a crucial July vote, the European Parliament rejected an attempt by the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) to veto legislation to rewild a fifth of the world's landmass and EU seas from 2030.
The EPP has called for a freeze on environmental legislation to prioritize economic growth and job creation, even though the Green Deal is a flagship policy for EU members and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.
The party demanded European farmers be spared burdensome bureaucratic red tape and called for stringent protections for resurgent wolves to be relaxed, which Brussels said it would consider.
«We are not changing in any way the ambitions behind the Green Deal or the targets that have been set,» a European Commission spokesman told the Telegraph.
Peter de Pous, climate change expert Tank E3G said , that there was an «emerging trend» in Europe where politicians were seizing the «first opportunity to undo» green measures they never wanted to take in the first place.
He said they were targeting specific areas. who are “easily swayed by arbitrariness, such as agriculture, cars or housing” and often “tacitly collaborate with the emboldened far right.”
A worker checks the metal label on the valve of the Dashavsky gas pipeline in Ukraine, a transit station on gas pipelines leading west to Europe Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images < p>Earlier this month, Roberta Metsola, president of the European Parliament, warned that climate rules are increasing support for populist politicians ahead of elections.
She called for a «proportionality test» and assessment of the cost of climate regulation ahead of an election where climate change and green regulation are already a battleground.
Meanwhile, a number of European Union member states are pushing for new emissions rules. will be eased before the bloc's ban on the sale of petrol and diesel cars comes into effect.
France, Italy and the Czech Republic are among a group of EU countries calling for new emissions curbs to be eased.
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Spain, which holds the EU's rotating presidency, has proposed delaying the so-called Euro 7 rules, which set a cap on CO₂ emissions for new cars sold in Europe.
Under the Madrid compromise, carmakers would be given an extra 24 months to comply, and 48 months for manufacturers of buses and trucks weighing more than 3.5 tonnes.
However, this fiction, agreed on Monday by EU governments, does not weaken the rules. .
“Despite the fact that some of its members are poorer than the UK, the EU is not giving up on phasing out internal combustion engines,” said Julia Poliscanova, senior director of vehicles at Transport & An environment that advocates zero-emission mobility.
Italy
Georgia Meloni's right-wing government says local businesses cannot afford to meet EU environmental targets.
Rome called on the EU to water it. scraps rules to improve the energy efficiency of buildings, arguing that it «risks damaging Italy» and that a «gradual approach» is needed rather than a ten-year target.
Italy has also pressured the EU to change its phased plans refusal of gasoline and diesel engines.
Georgia Meloni rejected the government The government voted in last year was made up of “dangerous climate change deniers.” Photo: GULIELMO MANGIAPANE/REUTERS
Ms Meloni denied in March that the government voted in last year was made up of “dangerous climate change deniers.”
“We believe that with respect international commitments to reduce climate change emissions should take a pragmatic rather than an ideological approach,” she said.
“Environmental sustainability should not be separated from economic and social sustainability.”
Sweden
Sweden, home of climate activist Greta Thunberg, has admitted it will fail to cut emissions by 2030. targets after cutting tax on polluting petrol and diesel.
It will also cut climate funding by £19 million next year. The government also plans to scrap a tax on plastic bags in a bid to reduce waste.
A power plant worker repairs damage after Russia's attack on central Ukraine Photo: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP
The minority-led coalition is backed by the far right The Sweden Democrats, described as the most anti-green party in the EU.
Demonstrators took to the streets of Stockholm on Friday after a movement launched by Ms. Thunberg called the new government budget a “big betrayal.”
Poland
Poland has filed legal challenges against three major EU climate policies. change policies, including a law banning the sale of new gasoline-powered cars from 2035.
Warsaw says the laws pose an “undue burden” on the poor, threaten energy security and pose coal mining jobs are at risk.
Until the recent spat over grain imports, Poland was one of Kiev's staunchest supporters and has accepted more than 1.6 million Ukrainian refugees despite a war-induced economic slowdown.
Netherlands
The Dutch government plans to accommodate the EU. nitrogen reduction targets with mandatory farm buybacks led to defeat in regional elections earlier this year.
Caroline Van Der Plas from BoerBurgerBeweging (BBB), Farmer-Citizen Movement Photo: BSR Agency/Getty Images
The Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB) came out of nowhere to become the largest party in all 12 provinces of the Netherlands in a vote dominated by tractor protests against the greens. laws.
The coalition government has since collapsed, meaning a general election in November could prove decisive for the future of green laws in the country.
The elections will be held by, among others, the BBB and Frans Timmermans, the former EU climate chief who left Brussels to contest the vote.
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