Free Republic

Europe’s leaders are about to consign the Earth to the risk of dangerous climate change, a UN expert says. Prof Jim Skea, a vice-chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, says the EU’s plan to cut CO2 emissions 40% by 2030 is too weak. He says it will commit future governments to “extraordinary and unprecedented” emissions cuts. The Commission rejected the claim, saying the 40% target puts Europe on track for long-term climate goals. Prof Skea believes governments are setting targets by what appears to be politically achievable rather than what is necessary to transform the way we make...

The EU's reputation as a model of environmental responsibility may soon be history. The European Commission wants to forgo ambitious climate protection goals and pave the way for fracking. German Chancellor Angela Merkel blocked stricter exhaust emissions during her re-election campaign to placate domestic automotive manufacturers like Daimler and BMW. This kind of blatant self-interest, EU officials complained at the time, is poisoning the climate. Now it seems that the climate is no longer of much importance to the European Commission, the EU's executive branch, either. Commission sources have long hinted at a move away from ambitious climate protection goals....