Germans don't believe EU will manage to become climate-neutral by 2050 - survey

A large majority of Germans harbours little hope that the EU can reach its target of becoming the globe's first climate-neutral continent by 2050. Only 17 percent of people in Germany believe it is "very probable" or "quite probable" the EU will reach its objective, compared to 72 percent who think it's "quite unlikely" or even "very unlikely," according to a survey conducted by pollster Civey and commissioned by Spiegel. The remaining 11 percent were undecided.

The poll also reveals that people supporting the current government coalition parties are more optimistic that the target can be reached. More than 22 percent of people sympathizing with chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative CDU/CSU alliance and more than 25 percent of people supporting the Social Democrats (SPD) said it was probable the EU can reach climate-neutrality by 2050. "In contrast, only about 16 percent of Green sympathizers consider it likely that the goal will be achieved. For the [pro-business] FDP, the figure is around 14 percent. For the Left and the [right-wing] AfD, the proportion is in the single-digit percentage range," the article states. The survey found little differences between age groups.

The European Commission unveiled its proposal to increase the bloc’s 2030 climate target to 55 percent, an intermediate step on the way to climate neutrality. "To become the first climate-neutral continent, we're proposing to increase the 2030 target for emission reduction to at least 55 percent," Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said on Twitter, adding: "I recognise this is too much for some & not enough for others." Whereas some German politicians and industry warned the new target could overburden the economy, environmental NGOs said the proposal was not enough to meet the Paris Climate Agreement targets.