Lead MEP says EU should skip 2040 emissions targets

The EU’s 2040 emission reduction target is “simply not necessary” and should be rejected, the Czech MEP responsible for steering the proposal through the Parliament has told Euronews in an interview.

Ondrej Knotek is a member of the far-right Patriots for Europe (PfE) group and was appointed as rapporteur to steer through the Parliament a Climate Law amendment setting the 2040 goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The European Commission formally proposed a 90% carbon emissions reduction target by 2040 in an amendment to its Climate Law earlier in July, as a pathway to achieving zero emissions by 2050.

Knotek said that when drafting the Parliament’s position on the file in the Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety (ENVI), he will push to reject the Commission’s proposal entirely, without proposing any alternative emissions reduction target.

“The 2040 target is an addition to the two existing targets, that is simply not necessary,” he said, referring to the EU’s final goal of reaching climate neutrality by 2050 and the intermediate target of a 55% reduction by 2030.

Knotek believes the EU has already done much more than its global competitors to combat global warming, and argues that the risks for the European economy and citizens are “much higher” than the potential contributions to global climate change mitigation. “Let’s wait for the others to have the same two legally binding targets, let’s wait for the others to have this third target, and then we can accompany. No one says that Europe needs to be the flagship,” he said.

Beyond the 2040 target, Knotek also challenges the entire Green Deal, the EU’s long-term plan to reach climate neutrality by 2050. “The target as such looked realistic in 2020, but now, after five years, we know that very probably it is not so much realistic,” he said, calling for a “strong recalibration” of the EU’s commitments.

“The correct reaction to the climate change is to reduce the emissions in a sustainable, and even slow way […] We don’t have to invest into faster reduction of emissions, but into the so-called adaptation to the climate change. The role of adaptation should be much higher than the reduction of greenhouse gases.”

A clash foreseen on the Climate Law

Ondrej Knotek will be supported by his political group, PfE, which strongly opposes EU climate action, and likely by other right-wing parties in Parliament.

But dismantling this signature EU climate policy will not be an easy task. Knotek’s appointment, which results from a complex allotment system giving large groups control over important files, has already triggered backlash from leftist and centrist members of Parliament.

Socialists and Democrats, Renew Europe, the Greens/EFA, and The Left will advocate for maintaining the 2040 target. Therefore, the Parliament’s position on the file will depend on the choice of the largest group, the European People’s Party (EPP).

“EPP MEPs are split on this issue. I am convinced that if they are left to vote freely, the majority of them would be against the 2040 target,” Knotek said.

The Czech MEP believes his EPP colleagues will follow the direction of their leader, Manfred Weber. “In the EPP, if you do not follow the line, you are sidelined and do not get any missions. So, if there would be a secret vote, they could distract, otherwise they stick to the line.”

Knotek’s report will be voted in the ENVI committee on September 23. Others MEPs from the same committee have until September 8 to add amendments. Parliament’s plenary session has then to confirm the outcome in the second week of October.

After the vote in Parliament, however, the provision must be negotiated with the EU’s 27 member states, which are set to adopt a common position in the Council. Some including  France and Poland have already expressed scepticism about the proposal.

The timing of negotiations is sensitive, as the Commission hoped to have the 2040 target enshrined in law ahead of the COP30 international climate conference in Brazil, which takes place in November.