EU's far right to help shape 2040 climate goals after vote fails
An initiative to fast-track the legislation — which would have stripped power from the climate-skeptical Patriots of Europe group — fell short due to insufficient backing from the center-right European People's Party.
In the EU assembly, the plan for urgent consideration of the greenhouse gas reduction law was backed by the Socialists & Democrats, Renew and Greens. The legislation is aimed at cutting emissions 90% by 2040 from 1990 levels.
Though the parliament has now opted for more time to consider the law, the EPP said after the vote that a fast-track agreement is still possible before the EU presents its emissions-cutting plans before the United Nations climate talks in November in Brazil. The EU wants the plans for 2035, known as NDC, to be linked to its 2040 goal.
"Our responsibility lies with a view to the international process, the necessity to deliver an NDC in due time and give a positive signal to the climate conference in Belem,' said Peter Liese, the group's lead lawmaker on environment. "On the other hand, we think that Europe needs to lead by example by keeping industry inside Europe and helping them to decarbonize and keep citizens on board.'
The EPP is the biggest group in the parliament and the political home of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who depends on backing from the Socialists, Renew and Greens for majority support. The three groups have defined climate as a key issue on their agendas.
Pascal Canfin, a senior lawmaker for the liberal Renew, said the four parties could make another attempt at triggering a fast-track procedure on the 2040 goal in September if the far-right tried to delay the climate law.
The Patriots have the right to nominate a lead lawmaker, meaning the group can steer the climate proposal through the parliament, have a say on dates and represent the assembly in talks with member states and the commission about the final shape of the law. The parliament as well as member states in the EU Council each have the right to submit amendments to the commission's original proposal.
Climate progressives had hoped the European Parliament would swiftly endorse a 90% emissions reduction target, increasing pressure on hesitant EU member states to follow suit. The EU must submit its 2035 climate plan to the U.N. ahead of COP30 in Belem. Any delay or dilution of ambition could undermine the bloc's credibility as a global climate leader.
EU member states are set to discuss the 2040 target for the first time at an informal meeting of environment ministers in Aalborg, Denmark, on Thursday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yomiuri Shimbun
8 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Newly Imposed U.S. ‘Reciprocal' Tariffs May Be at Odds with Japan Deal; Proposed Pharma Levy Sparks Concerns
The United States imposed new 'reciprocal' tariffs on Japan and about 70 other countries and regions at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday (1:01 p.m. in Japan). Economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa held a 90-minute meeting with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Wednesday in Washington, during which he urged the United States to swiftly implement the terms of a bilateral trade deal. During the talks, Akazawa reaffirmed the details of the trade agreement between Japan and the United States, including special measures for reciprocal tariffs and a reduction in automobile tariffs. This was Akazawa's ninth visit to the United States for tariff negotiations and the first since the two countries reached an agreement on July 22. The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump published a document on its reciprocal tariffs in the U.S. Federal Register on Wednesday and explained that new special provisions would apply only to the European Union, not to Japan or any other country. According to the Japanese government, it had agreed with the U.S. government on the following special provisions: For items with tariff rates of less than 15%, the total rate including the reciprocal tariff would be set at 15%; for items with tariff rates of 15% or more, the reciprocal tariff would not be applied. However, neither the executive order signed by Trump nor the Federal Register document dated Aug. 6 mentioned these special provisions for Japan. As it stands, 15% may be being added to existing tariffs, as for other countries and regions aside from the EU. For example, the tariff rate for textiles exported from Japan was 7.5%, but now could be 22.5%. There should not have been any change to the tariff for beef, which was 26.4%, but there are concerns that the tariff has been increased to 41.4%. Because of this issue, Akazawa requested a swift correction to the document. Akazawa also discussed the auto tariff, requesting that the rate is reduced from the current 27.5% to 15%, as agreed, at an early date. The implementation period is still uncertain. He did not disclose the U.S. side's reaction. Akazawa will stay until Friday to continue coordinating with the United States. Under the new tariffs, Japan, the EU and South Korea face a 15% levy; the United Kingdom and others face the lowest rate of 10%; and Syria faces the highest rate of 41%. In an interview with CNBC on Tuesday, Trump said he would announce sector-specific tariff rates on pharmaceuticals and semiconductors next week. He said that tariffs on pharmaceuticals would be raised in stages and could reach as much as 250%. The United States imports many, mainly generic, drugs from India and China, and some have pointed out potential security concerns. Pharmaceutical exports from Japan to the United States amounted to about ¥440 billion yen in 2023, and if these tariffs are actually implemented, the industry could be hit hard just like the auto industry. Hayashi: No discrepancy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters on Thursday, 'We have been confirming with the United States that there is no discrepancy regarding the recognition [of the contents of the agreement].' He added that Japan and the United States would 'communicate at various levels and work for the agreement's steady implementation.'
Japan Times
9 hours ago
- Japan Times
Anti-drone system boosts Greece's ambitious plans for defense drone industry
It took just minutes for a new Greek-made anti-drone system to show what it is capable of. On its first test run with a European Union patrol in the Red Sea a year ago, the Centauros system detected and swiftly brought down two aerial drones launched by Yemen's Houthis, who have been attacking merchant vessels in the busy shipping lane. Another two drones swiftly retreated: Centauros had jammed their electronics, said Kyriakos Enotiadis, electronics director at state-run Hellenic Aerospace Industry (HAI), which produces the anti-drone system. The successful test run added impetus to Greek government plans to develop a home-grown industry that would mass produce drone and anti-drone systems — part of a €30 billion program aimed at modernizing the country's armed forces by 2036. Named after the mythological half-man, half-horse creature, Centauros can detect drones from a distance of 150 kilometers and fire from 25 km. Greece plans to install it throughout its naval fleet. "It's the only battle-proven anti-drone system (made) in Europe," Enotiadis said, as dozens of employees worked nearby, assembling electronic components of anti-aircraft missiles. Up until now, Greece has been using only a few dozen unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR). Most of them are made abroad, including in France and Israel. As the multibillion-euro defense program is rolled out, it will incorporate Greek-made anti-drone and combat drone systems into the armed forces, including its planned anti-aircraft ballistic dome, called Achilles Shield. Greece's neighbor, NATO-ally and historic rival Turkey, is a prolific drone exporter. Greece spends nearly 3.5% of gross domestic product on defense due to the long-standing dispute with Turkey, with the domestic defense industry accounting for only a fraction of that. In the coming decade, it plans to invest some €800 million ($925 million) in defense innovation, said Pantelis Tzortzakis, CEO of the newly founded Hellenic Centre for Defence Innovation (HCDI), which is supervised by the Defence Ministry. "Our target is to export as much as we spend on defense annually," Tzortzakis said. Altus, one of a few Greek private companies that manufacture combat drones, has worked in cooperation with France's MBDA to produce Kerveros — a vertical take-off and landing UAV with a payload of more than 30 kilograms that includes advanced anti-tank missiles. "I'm very optimistic about the Greek drone industry," said Zacharias Sarris, co-owner of Altus, which already exports ISR drones to five countries. "Greece has a great need for this technology," he added, referring to the country's complex geopolitical position. In the meantime, HAI is aiming high. In 2026, it will start mass-producing two more portable anti-drone systems called Iperion and Telemachus, designed to protect troops from drone swarms and lethal minidrones. It will also present its first big unmanned aerial vehicle, Archytas, named after the ancient Greek inventor said to have produced the first autonomous flying machine in about 400 BC. "We are striving for this UAV to be the best of its kind," said Nikos Koklas, the company's director of new products.
Japan Times
11 hours ago
- Japan Times
Trump administration memo urges countries to reject plastic production caps
The United States has sent letters to at least a handful of countries urging them to reject the goal of a global pact that includes limits on plastic production and plastic chemical additives at the start of U.N. plastic treaty talks in Geneva, according to a memo. In the communications dated July 25 and circulated to countries at the start of negotiations on Monday, the U.S. laid out its red lines for negotiations that put it in direct opposition to over 100 countries that have supported those measures. Hopes for a "last-chance" ambitious global treaty that tackles the full life cycle of plastic pollution from the production of polymers to the disposal of waste have dimmed as delegates gather for what was intended to be the final round of negotiations. Significant divisions remain between oil-producing countries — who oppose caps on virgin plastic production fueled by petroleum, coal and gas — and parties such as the European Union and small island states, which advocate for limits, as well as stronger management of plastic products and hazardous chemicals. The U.S. delegation, led by career State Department officials who had represented the Biden administration, sent memos to countries laying out its position and saying it will not agree to a treaty that tackles the upstream of plastic pollution. "We will not support impractical global approaches such as plastic production targets or bans and restrictions on plastic additives or plastic products — that will increase the costs of all plastic products that are used throughout our daily lives," said the memo. The U.S. acknowledged in the memo that after attending a preliminary heads of delegation meeting in Nairobi from June 30 to July 2, "we plainly do not see convergence on provisions related to the supply of plastic, plastic production, plastic additives or global bans and restrictions on products and chemicals, also known as the global list". A State Department spokesperson said each party should take measures according to its national context. "Some countries may choose to undertake bans, while others may want to focus on improved collection and recycling," the spokesperson said. John Hocevar, Oceans Campaign Director for Greenpeace USA, said the U.S. delegation's tactics under Trump marked a "return to old school bullying from the U.S. Government trying to use its financial prowess to convince governments to change their position in a way that benefits what the U.S. wants." A diplomatic source from a country supporting an ambitious treaty said that the treaty would be a key example of trying to preserve the multilateral system amidst a challenging global context. "Either multilateralism becomes the lowest common denominator, and we are only able to move forward on unambitious things, or we show that we are capable of having a global framework on important issues," they said. One of the world's leading producers of plastics, the U.S. has also proposed revising the draft objective of the treaty to reduce plastic pollution by eliminating a reference to an agreed "approach that addresses the full life cycle of plastics." A source familiar with the negotiations said it indicated that the U.S. is seeking to roll back language that had been agreed in 2022 to renegotiate the mandate for the Treaty. "Refusing to include plastic production in this treaty is not a negotiation stance. It is economic self-sabotage," said Juan Carlos Monterrey-Gomez, head of the delegation for Panama. "Those blocking progress are not protecting their industries. They are locking their people out of the next wave of prosperity." The U.S. stance broadly aligns with the positions laid out by the global petrochemicals industry, which stated similar positions ahead of the talks, and a number of powerful oil and petrochemical producer countries that have held this position throughout the negotiations. Over 100 countries have backed a cap on global plastic production. In the U.S., the Trump administration has numerous measures to roll back climate and environmental policies that it says place too many burdens on industry. Plastic production is set to triple by 2060 without intervention, choking oceans, harming human health and accelerating climate change, according to the OECD.
