Germany set to widely miss climate targets, env ministry warns
Germany’s environment ministry fears high emissions from coal-fired power plants and transport will make the country miss its 2020 climate targets by a wider margin than previously anticipated. The ministry’s warning in an internal paper seen by the Clean Energy Wire adds further pressure to make fast progress on climate-related issues in upcoming talks aimed at forming a new government following September’s general elections. Without further action, CO2 emissions will only be 31.7 to 32.5 percent below 1990 levels, the paper shows. Given the official target of cutting emissions by 40 percent, the ministry warns that a failure of this magnitude would constitute a “significant blow to Germany’s climate policy”, and would amount to “a disaster for Germany’s international reputation as a climate leader.”
Read the full article by the Clean Energy Wire here.