Em statements to journalists during an ongoing ministerial meeting in Brussels, Belgium, where the major European institutions are located, Graça Maria Carvalho denied any retreat in climate ambitions.
“I wouldn’t say that; what I think is happening is that Member States want to negotiate a set of dossiers and not the climate dossier alone,” she replied, adding that the discussion on combating climate change is influenced by industry, agriculture, and also defense.
The ministers from the 27 member countries responsible for environmental portfolios were supposed to decide today on intermediate climate targets, following definitions for 2030 and 2050, especially as car manufacturers call for extended deadlines.
Midway through the meeting, the Environment Minister announced that the 27 ministers decided to leave this discussion for the next European Council meeting, following which “there will be another discussion among environment ministers to finalize the values.”
The intention, according to the Portuguese minister, is to associate climate with other areas, insisting that this is not a concession to sectors requesting more time to meet European Commission plans: “Climate is horizontal, affecting many other dossiers, and [Member States] want to discuss it more globally.”
At the start of today’s ministerial meeting, the European Commission expressed confidence that the EU will remain at the forefront of objectives to tackle climate change, despite existing divisions among Member States over the trajectory for reducing pollutant emissions by 2040.
Regarding energy constraints in the Pyrenees region affecting the Iberian Peninsula’s access to the rest of the EU countries, Maria da Graça Carvalho mentioned being invited alongside the Spanish counterpart to a meeting in Paris with Emmanuel Macron’s government and the European Commission to start discussions on resolving this issue.
