Delay to 2040 climate goals ‘a mistake' Ribera answers Macron
It would be a mistake for the European Commission to follow French President Emmanuel Macron's advice and slam the brakes on its proposals for 2040 climate targets, the Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera told Euronews' Europe Today show on Friday morning.
Ribera, responsible for the EU's green transition portfolio, is slated to present the 2040 targets after next Wednesday's meeting of the college of commissioners.
The French President raised his opposition to the EU executive tabling the proposal next week in an unusual intervention at leaders' level during the EU Council summit in Brussels on Thursday.
After the summit he told reporters that the EU should take more time to come to an agreement on the new targets because "we want to make this climate ambition compatible with European competitiveness".
"I believe in the possibility of a Europe that reconciles an ambitious climate agenda with respect for the commitments of the Paris Agreement and that preserves its competitiveness. All that requires is technological neutrality, the ability to invest and consistency in trade policy,' Macron said.
Targets are essential economic and social welfare, says Ribera
"The 2040 targets can't be a technical debate that takes just a few weeks. It has to be a democratic debate at 27 [member states]. And I say this because I love Europe. And I say it because, in two years' time, I'll no longer be in charge of my country. But I would be unwise to leave my successor a situation that had been debated outside the framework of the 27," he added.
'I think it could be a mistake,' Ribera told Europe Today, asked by presenter Meabh McMahon whether she was prepared to accede to Macron and delay the proposal.
'This year is the tenth anniversary of the Paris agreement, and we want to identify how we can keep on going in something we that we think is quite essential for the economic and social welfare of the Europeans and worldwide,' Ribera said.
'We have already identified that we want to be a fully carbonised economy by 2050, we have targets for 2030, we need some clear orientation around 2040, and the reduction of 90% is a clear goal,' the Spanish commissioner said, adding: 'Then how we can combine the different pieces, the eventual flexibilities is the thing to be discussed, but we are working hard and we will table our proposal in the coming days.'
The EU is committed to net-zero by 2050, after bringing its carbon emissions to 55% below 1990 levels by the end of this decade. The missing element is the 2040 target, which the EU executive was originally supposed to table last year, but which has been subject to delay.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
21 minutes ago
- Euronews
Experts will assess damage to Iran's nuclear sites, says diplomat
A ceasefire between Iran and Israel brokered by the US continues to hold, but many questions remain about what is left of Tehran's nuclear programme amid controversy on the impact of US strikes on the facilities. Speaking to Euronews, Iran's ambassador to Greece, Malek Hossein Gevzad, said the crisis had rallied the Iranian people and that the damage to nuclear sites from US strikes would be assessed by experts. Gevzad said Iran believes in diplomacy, but stressed that circumstances have changed and decisions are now taken with the protection of national interests in mind. Diplomacy and self-protection: finding a difficult balance "The basic principle of Iran's foreign policy is and remains diplomacy and negotiations," he said. However, he noted that following the aggression that, according to the Iranian side, Israel and the US have shown, Iran has been forced to adjust its stance. US pilots dropped some 30,000-pound bombs early Sunday on two key underground uranium enrichment plants in Iran, delivering what American military leaders believe is a knockout blow to a nuclear programme that Israel views as an existential threat. Before the US involvement, Israel had been pummeling Iran for more than a week and had requested US intervention to complete the job. American sailors bolstered the surprise mission by firing dozens of cruise missiles from a submarine toward at least one other site. According to the Iranian diplomat to Greece, these actions were a violation of Iran's territorial sovereignty, which gives the Islamic Republic the right to respond. Damage to nuclear facilities - Estimates expected Gevzad argued that Iran's nuclear programme was used exclusively for peaceful purposes and was severely damaged. The extent of the damage is being assessed by Iranian experts once the safety of the infrastructure has been ensured, he said. The reaction of Iranians and the attitude of the West Despite the tension between Iran and the West, the ambassador stressed the unity of the Iranian people: "The aggression caused national unity and strengthened the rallying of the people around the government and the armed forces." In the same context, he strongly criticised Europe, which he accused of not only failing to condemn the attacks, but in some cases supporting the aggressor side. The Iranian ambassador praised Russia and China for their condemnation of the Israeli-US strikes on Tehran's nuclear sites. Gedanz said this shows a clear stance in favour of Iran, condemning hostile actions against it. Their support, he said, "is an important factor in maintaining international stability and peace" The Iranian diaspora in Greece The ambassador concluded by thanking the Iranian community residing in Greece, which he described as "united and committed to defending the homeland". He said Iranians in the diaspora stood in solidarity with the people, government and armed forces of Iran. A relatively small Iranian diaspora resides in Greece, with most arriving after the 1979 Iranian Revolution or the Iran-Iraq War. In 2021, approximately 2,500 Iranians were living in Greece.
LeMonde
an hour ago
- LeMonde
Social democracy: PM Bayrou's proclamations are not enough
Three days after the breakdown of talks on the future of the pensions system, French Prime Minister François Bayrou tried to revive the process during an unusual press conference on Thursday, June 26, during which he did not hesitate to rewrite history in his own way. According to him, the four-month negotiations between labor unions and employers' organizations, an effort to overcome the democratic trauma caused by the raising of the retirement age without a vote in Parliament, were "remarkably useful." Thanks to the goodwill of employers' organizations and the three unions that agreed to sit through the talks, improvements are on the horizon for mothers' pensions, as well as for retirees who have not contributed long enough to receive a full pension. The prime minister downplayed the significance of the deadlocks that emerged over arduous working conditions and how to fund all proposed adjustments. He said he was ready to grant an additional two weeks of discussions to the labor unions and employers' organizations. But he did not rule out the possibility of putting forward "compromise solutions" himself that could be translated into legislation as part of the social security budget to be debated this fall. If the goal of this initiative was to reshuffle the deck, its failure is clear. The Socialists, which the centrist Bayrou has been trying to win over since his appointment, submitted a motion of no confidence on Tuesday, on the grounds that the initial promise to review the issue of the retirement age of 64 had been broken. With just two weeks to go before the announcement of tough budgetary choices, this attempt at outreach to the left ended in failure. As for the participants in what Bayrou called a "conclave," they remain highly circumspect: While not shutting the door on further talks, all are holding back on responding. Bayrou has always championed social democracy. It is his only card in this matter. Everythign else is playing against him: his record unpopularity, fueled by a tendency to procrastinate rather than decide; his inability to assert any real authority over the centrist bloc, which shares no common vision regarding the future of the 2023 pension reform; and his complex relationship with the president, who supports him but is also frustrated by the risk of an impasse. The combination of these weaknesses means that, instead of generating momentum around what he believes in – shared responsibility and easing labor tensions – the prime minister appears increasingly desperate, resorting to cunning manneuvers in order to survive politically. The return of the labor unions and employers' organizations to the negotiating table is all the more necessary as the loss of a majority in the Assemblée Nationale led to deadlock and a simmering crisis. Bayrou said he was willing to entrust the governance of the public pension fund to the employer representatives and the unions. This would be an effective way to defuse and depoliticize the management of a hot-button issue that, given demographic trends, is far from settled. But trust cannot be mandated. Having been sidelined for eight years, the unions have every reason to be wary. Protected by pro-business policies, the employers' representatives struggle to understand that they, too, need to do their part. They reject any increase in contributions but are in no hurry to facilitate employment for older workers. The obstacles are not solely political in nature.
LeMonde
an hour ago
- LeMonde
French university welcomes first US researchers
Eight American researchers have arrived at a university in southern France, as the country pushes to offer "science asylum" to US academics hit by federal research spending cuts under Donald Trump. The University of Aix-Marseille (AMU) welcomed the scholars on Thursday, June 26, following the March launch of its "Safe Place for Science" initiative, the first among 20 set to relocate there in the coming months. The program has already drawn nearly 300 applicants from top institutions such as Stanford, NASA and Berkeley. The development comes as US universities have been threatened since Trump's return to the White House with massive federal funding cuts, causing research programs to face closures. Some staff also fear possible detention and deportation for their political views. AMU – one of France's largest universities, with some 12,000 international students alone – is eager to provide a home for these scholars, with research funding for up to three years. AMU's program is part of a broader push to cash in on US President Donald Trump's massive cuts in funding for education. In May, France and the European Union announced plans to attract US researchers in hopes of benefitting from the potential brain drain by supporting the costs of hosting foreign researchers. French President Emmanuel Macron, who called the growing pressure on academia by Trump's administration "an error," has encouraged US scientists to "choose France." He announced that his government would earmark €100 million to help attract foreign talent. French lawmakers have introduced a bill to create a special status for "science refugees." European Commission head Ursula Von der Leyen has said the EU will launch an incentives package worth €500 million to make the 27-nation bloc "a magnet for researchers." For its part, AMU expects to welcome the other 12 American researchers in the coming months, with its budget of €15 million. "Saving our American colleagues and welcoming them is also a way of welcoming and promoting global research," said the university's president, Eric Berton. "This is a science welcome program, a science asylum program. And above all, we want to enshrine the concept of science refugees in law," he added. In recent years, France has already welcomed scholars forced into exile from Ukraine, Yemen, Afghanistan and the Palestinian territories.
