CLARIFICATION: German foreign ministry supports EU proposal to reduce emissions by 90 percent by 2040

Please note: This article has been updated to clarify that support for the target so far has been voiced only by the foreign ministry, while the government cabinet has yet to agree its position.

Germany's foreignt ministry has thrown its weight behind the European Commission’s proposal for a 2040 climate target. "We strongly support the proposal for an EU climate target to reduce emissions by at least 90 percent by 2040," foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said at the Petersberg Climate Dialogue in Berlin. She said the European Green Deal – the union's sustainable growth strategy – was "all about conviction," which is why Baerbock pushed for its further development "as a central framework for our economy, our industry and our social policies."

The ministry told Clean Energy Wire that Baerbock had welcomed the EU Commission's proposal "on behalf of the foreign ministry." A final positioning of the whole government still had to be coordinated, the ministry said. 

The EU is aiming to make Europe the first climate neutral continent by 2050 and has agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels as a stepping stone. It now sets its eyes on an intermediary target for 2040. The European Commission in February recommended that the bloc reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent by 2040, saying the EU's Green Deal now needs to become an "industrial decarbonisation deal." It is a first recommendation by the outgoing Commission to start discussions, with EU institutions set to make a final decision next year, well into the new term after the 2024 EU elections.