Germany urges prudence as Europe spars over its own green deal – report

Germany sounded a note of caution as energy ministers from EU member states debated a proposal to aim for net-zero emissions from the bloc by the middle of the century, reports Ewa Krukowska for Bloomberg. “I think it’s important that we acknowledge the major challenges that we face and be responsible in that regard […] We must ensure growth and well-being for our citizens at the same time as an environmental transition,” Thomas Bareiss, a deputy economy and energy minister, told his counterparts at their meeting Monday in Brussels, according to the report. In a press release by the ministry for economic affairs on the EU talks, Bareiss said that “our climate policy will only be imitated on an international level if the EU remains a competitive location for industry.”

Germany's environment ministry is calling for an ambitious greenhouse gas reduction goal of “at least 95 percent” by the year 2050 compared to 1990, in a draft of the highly anticipated Climate Action Law, seen by Clean Energy Wire. The text also calls for greenhouse gas neutrality by mid-century by removing the equivalent of remaining emissions from the atmosphere. But the draft has has drawn criticism from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU party, revealing conflicting views within the German coalition government over how the country should meet its climate targets.