Drive to raise EU’s 2030 emissions reduction goal deserves support – commentary

European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Cañete’s proposal to raise the EU’s 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target to 45 percent from 40 percent relative to 1990 levels would catalyse action on the part of other governments and therefore merits support, Michael Bauchmüller writes in a commentary for the Süddeutsche Zeitung. Because current commitments made under the Paris Agreement are insufficient to keep global warming within two degrees Celsius, additional action is needed, according to Bauchmüller. “If Europe raises its long-term goal during this time, it will have consequences for other [governments willing to take action on climate change] around the world,” he writes.

Read the commentary in German here.