Seven Member States from the European Union have called on the EU and other Member States to align their long-term climate ambition with the objectives of the Paris Climate Agreement.
Meeting in Paris on Wednesday at the invitation of French politicians Nicolas Hulot and Brune Poirson, the ministers in charge of climate change from seven European Union Member States — France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Portugal, Germany, and Luxembourg — reconfirmed their support of the Paris Agreement and called for the development and implementation of an ambitious long-term strategy for the European Union and its Member States to align their climate policies with the objectives of the Paris Agreement.
“European Union must raise its level of ambition to reach the Paris Agreement goals,” said Brune Poirson, the French Secretary of State to the Minister for the ecological and inclusive transition. “France is taking its part by defining and implementing new policies for a fair and ecological transition, and is currently revising its national long-term strategy to aim at carbon neutrality at horizon 2050.”
In addition to Hulot and Poirson were Eric Wiebes for The Netherlands, Kimmo Tiilikainen for Finland, José Mendes for Portugal, André Weidenhaupt for Luxembourg, and Karsten Sach for Germany. Together, the group of ministers called for the EU and its Member States to raise their levels of climate ambition and commit to net zero greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the Paris Agreement. This comes amidst ongoing discussions in Europe as the region looks to redefine its long-term climate policies. Last month, EU governments formally requested that the European Commission draw up long-term emissions reduction strategy in line with the Paris Agreement. Such a move could have dramatic consequences across the Union.
“The EU needs a long-term climate strategy consistent with the ambition level in the Paris Agreement,” added André Weidenhaupt, Luxembourg’s Director General of the Ministry for Sustainable development and Infrastructure. “In this perspective there is the need to mainstream climate action into all relevant EU policies and the next Multiannual Financial Framework. Enabling EU policies, such as the “clean energy package”, in particular the renewable energy and energy efficiency directives, vehicles and products standards, will contribute in this perspective.”