'Contrary to the claims of the far-right populists, people are convinced of the reality of climate change'

Not long ago, the European Union could boast of having radically transformed its economy. With the target of carbon neutrality by 2050, the course was set, and, for better or worse, all actors – public and private – fell in line. The milestones toward a decarbonized economy – such as a ban on the sale of combustion-engine cars from 2035, or the sharp reduction in emissions planned for 2040 – guided expectations and shaped business strategies. Through exhortations, regulations and subsidies, the EU put the economies of its 27 member states on a new trajectory. The reluctance of certain countries, such as Hungary and Poland, did not manage to halt the march toward a green economy.

The landscape looks very different today. On October 9, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he would “do everything” to avoid making 2035 a hard deadline.

A few weeks earlier, car manufacturers and suppliers had requested in a joint letter to the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, a loosening of the requirements set for that date. Citing the low uptake of electric vehicles, they argued that the target is unattainable and proposed making room for other options, such as plug-in hybrids or highly efficient combustion vehicles.

And there is still no agreement among member states on the emissions reduction targets for 2035 and 2040, meaning that the EU missed the deadline to notify its climate objectives to the United Nations ahead of COP30, the climate conference to be held from November 10 to November 21 in Belém, in the Amazon region of Brazil.

A retreat

There are several reasons for what has started to look like backtracking. The first is political: While the 2021 climate law responded to a mandate expressed in the 2019 elections and was carried in the European Parliament by a coalition of center-left, center-right, liberals and Greens, that alliance – still nominally a majority – is now weakened by ad hoc partnerships between the right and the far right. The European People’s Party (EPP) now has alternatives to compromise with the left and does not hesitate to use them. Opposition to the Green Deal has become fertile ground for the rise of these alternatives.

You have 57.9% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.