Flanders asks Europe to postpone discussion on 2040 CO2 targets

The Flemish Energy and Climate Plan for 2030 was only just approved by the Flemish government, and the European Commission was already at the front door to start the discussion on the 2040 CO2 reduction targets. Flemish Environment Minister Zuhal Demir regards this as incomprehensible. On behalf of the Government of Flanders, she is formally asking the European Commission to suspend the discussion on the 2040 targets and focus on the extensive amount of work that is on the shelf today to fulfil previous commitments.

The Flemish government is opting for far-reaching measures that should finally lead to a significant reduction in emissions of 40% by 2030, combined with much-needed investments in climate adaptation such as the Blue Deal and the Climate Adaptation Plan to make Flanders resilient to extreme weather conditions. Just a few weeks ago, this resulted in an updated climate plan that includes the accelerated phasing out of subsidies for natural gas condensing boilers.

Blind focus on increasingly higher targets

Yet that does not stop the European Commission from already starting to discuss the (higher) 2040 CO2 targets. This is incomprehensible to Flemish Environment Minister Zuhal Demir, who was previously critical of the blind focus on increasingly higher targets, which serve mainly as a distraction from the lack of achievements.

Not the worst

Demir is referring to the latest figures for the year 2021 from the EEA, the European Environment Agency. These show that Flanders and Belgium are not among the worst of the 27 EU countries.

Implement what has been agreed upon first

“The Flemish Government holds the view that the European Commission’s first priority must be to help the Member States accelerate the transition from imported fossil fuels and ensure the availability of affordable energy through the implementation of the dossiers agreed upon. The focus of the Member States in the coming years must be on achieving the already ambitious 2030 targets through concrete measures. In our view, the nature of these short-term challenges justifies postponing the discussion of the 2040 target,” the government formally informs the Commission.

Balancing ambitions and feasibility

“When the timing is right, the Flemish Government will contribute constructively to the discussions on setting the target for 2040. However, a realistic approach must be taken when setting the 2040 target, which requires finding the right balance between ambitions and feasibility. It is therefore essential that the 2040 target takes into account the specific circumstances of the Member States,” the government adds.