I find it criminal that we don’t do more. The idea that this will impact our economy is so short-sighted. If we don’t do something now, it will be too late for our grand kinds. We can do a lot as a species (look at how fast the vaccines were developed, how much solidarity there was) but the politicians and big corporations are slowing everything down.
Brussels Climate Minister Alain Maron (Ecolo) provisionally does not want to submit the Belgian energy and climate plan to the European Commission if Flanders does not increase its climate effort or provide financial guarantees. So says Flemish Environment Minister Zuhal Demir (N-VA), after the various ministers responsible sat around the table on the subject earlier in the day.
European member states must submit updates of their energy and climate plans for the period from 2021 to 2030 by the end of this month on how they plan to cut CO2 emissions. Europe is targeting a 55 per cent reduction in emissions. For Belgium, that amounts to a 47 per cent reduction.
However, it looks like Belgium will not meet that target. It has long been known that Flanders does not want to go beyond a 40 per cent reduction. During a consultation between the various relevant ministers on Monday afternoon, Minister Demir also confirmed that position.
That is why Brussels minister Maron, who chaired the meeting, announced that he will not submit the proposal for the time being, unless Flanders scales down its ambition - the chances of that happening are virtually non-existent - or provides financial guarantees. The latter may involve the financial consequences of not meeting the target. Meanwhile, Maron wants to set up working groups.
However, the Demir cabinet is told that this is still only a draft, to be followed by recommendations per country and then a final plan only in June next year. Her proposal entailed submitting that text already, with a justification that internal consultations on the gap are yet to take place, but that track was rejected.
“That the other governments take a different view is no problem at all. But that they refused to accept the Flemish climate plan today and put the knife to the throat of Flemish democracy is unprecedented. Flanders is fully committed to -40 per cent by 2030, but we are indeed not going to implement the Ecolo programme,” Demir said.
Federal does want to go further
Commenting, federal Energy Minister Tinne Van der Straeten (Green) stressed that ambitious plans amount to lower energy bills now, and healthier air and fewer CO2 emissions in the future. The federal policy has accelerated in all areas to meet target of -47 per cent by 2030, which means avoiding 25 megatons of additional emissions, she reads.
She pointed to the various measures taken to meet that target, such as the expansion of the offshore wind farm, the first-ever energy island, a green hydrogen strategy and pipeline network and various VAT reductions. The minister approved the European Renewable Energy Directive a fortnight ago. This will allow regions to speed up renewable energy projects thanks to accelerated permitting rules.
In any case, it remains to be seen what the consequences of not meeting the targets will be. There is a chance that that gap will have to be compensated in one way or another. “If a bill follows, it will be because federal stupidity goes along with unachievable targets, without the support of the largest state,” Demir believes.
(translated with Deepl)
