Europe’s new climate action pioneers – opinion

Successful and resolute climate action has a mixed record among European countries, but former trailblazer Germany today is known for trailing behind, Joachim Wille writes in the Frankfurter Rundschau. “There are still EU countries that take climate action seriously,” Wille says, citing Portugal, which recently covered 100 percent of its power production with renewables, France, which is pushing for a CO₂ tax, or Britain and the Netherlands, both of which are actively working towards an end to coal-fired power production. By contrast, Germany has effectively scrapped its 2020 climate target and will postpone its next climate action touchstone to 2030, he writes. Others, such as Poland, say they will cling to coal for some time to come. “This disparate situation is part of the explanation as to why the EU as a whole is not on track for the Paris Climate Agreement,” he writes.

See the CLEW dossier The next German government and the energy transition for more information.