German coalition negotiators agree to scrap 2020 climate target – sources

By Paul Homewood

h/t Patsy Lacey

BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s would-be coalition partners have agreed to drop plans to lower carbon dioxide emissions by 40 percent from 1990 levels by 2020, sources familiar with negotiations said on Monday — a potential embarrassment for Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Due to strong economic growth and higher-than-expected immigration, Germany is likely to miss its national emissions target for 2020 without any additional measures.

Negotiators for Merkel’s conservative bloc and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) told Reuters the parties had agreed in exploratory talks on forming a government that the targeted cut in emissions could no longer be achieved by 2020.

Instead, they would aim to hit the 40 percent target in the early 2020s, the sources said, adding that both parties are still sticking to their goal of achieving a 55 percent cut in emissions by 2030.

The deal would represent something of a U-turn for Merkel, who has long presented herself as an advocate of climate protection policies on the international stage.

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Under the Fifth Carbon Budget, the UK is legally obliged to cut GHGs from 1990 levels by 57% for the period 2028-32. This is already a greater cut than Germany’s pledge, which must now be considered as doubtful, despite this attempt to kick the can down the road.

Already, UK emissions are 45% below 1990, and government projections say that they will be 50% below by 2020.