Ministers from European Union countries will meet this week to attempt to agree joint plans on addressing climate change, with some diplomats saying countries under economic pressure might water down some targets proposed by Brussels.
Gas prices have skyrocketed over past months. Photo: 123rf
The previously scheduled meeting by EU energy ministers would also give them a chance to discuss emergency plans to reduce gas demand, which Brussels was expected to draw up in coming weeks in case of further cuts in supply from Russia.
The energy ministers meeting on Monday (local time), and environment ministers meeting the following day, were expected to agree common positions on proposed laws to meet a 2030 target to cut net emissions by 55 percent from 1990 levels.
The laws would expand renewable energy, revamp the EU carbon market and ban sales of new cars running on fossil fuels from 2035.
Brussels said the energy supply crisis this year caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine meant the 27 EU countries should move even faster to wean themselves off fossil fuels.
But the threat of an economic slump from surging energy prices had also made some countries more cautious about swift change that they fear might bring more disruption.
Energy ministers were expected to back targets proposed by the EU Commission last year to get 40 percent of energy from renewable sources and cut energy consumption 9 percent against expected levels by 2030.
Brussels hiked those goals to 45 percent and 13 percent last month, in a bid to speed up the end of countries' reliance on imported - and increasingly expensive - fossil fuels. Ministers were expected to approve the original proposals, and put off considering the upgraded versions until later this year when they negotiate the final laws with the EU parliament.
Renewables accounted for around 22 percent of EU energy in 2020.
Countries were considering weakening other parts of the laws, according to deals drafted ahead of the ministers' meeting seen by Reuters.
The draft agreements would make some targets voluntary rather than legally binding, including a target to reduce primary energy consumption and a target for renewables to account for 2.6 percent of transport fuels by 2030.
Countries were also considering lowering a target for half of hydrogen used by industry to come from renewable sources by 2030.
Some diplomats raised concerns that the changes, if approved, would cause the EU to miss its climate goals. But others said they expected countries to preserve the core elements needed to meet emissions targets.
- Reuters
* This story was edited inappropriately and has been corrected. RNZ is concerned and takes this matter extremely seriously. We are investigating and have taken appropriate action.
A previous version of this story was attributed to both Reuters and RNZ. In the earlier version, there was a reference to “the energy supply crisis following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine”. This has been removed and replaced with the copy supplied by Reuters, which referred to “the energy supply caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine”.