By Isabelle Yr Carlsson
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -European nations should not halt the continent’s green transition, Denmark’s climate minister told Reuters, as his country prepares to lead EU negotiations on a new climate target amid a backlash from some governments concerned about its cost.
The European Commission plans to propose a new 2040 climate target next week to slash EU emissions by 90% compared with 1990 levels, but faces pushback from countries including Poland and France which are worried that this aim is too high.
Lars Aagaard, energy and climate minister for Denmark, said in an interview that short-term challenges – including budgets stretched by increased military spending – must not distract from Europe’s need to switch to green energy.
“The answer to Europe’s competitiveness is that we transition to using electricity for more things. It’s that we can produce it ourselves. We can do that with renewable energy. We can do it with nuclear power,” Aagaard said.
“It’s not a solution for the climate, nor the security challenge, to halt the (green) transition in Europe,” he added.
Denmark takes over the EU’s six-month rotating presidency in July and will lead negotiations on the 2040 goal, at a time when Europe is sharply raising defence spending following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The EU’s green transition and its race to re-arm are taking place against a “grim background,” Aagaard said, citing geopolitical tensions.
“It’s not a celebration that Europe has to rearm militarily. It’s because we are threatened. And it’s not a celebration that we have to go green. Climate change is also serious,” he said.
The European Union has rolled back a series of green policies this year, trying to contain reactions from member countries and struggling industries over environmental rules.
The 2040 goal will aim to keep EU countries on track between their 2030 emissions target and a 2050 net zero goal.
(Reporting by Isabelle Yr Carlsson, additional reporting by Kate Abnett; Editing by Aidan Lewis)
Comments