She may not have been so keen on the plan when it was first proposed by the European Commission last November, but the Green Party’s surge in support at the most recent EU elections seems to have forced Chancellor Angela Merkel’s hand: Germany, too, will join the push to bring greenhouse gas emissions down to zero by 2050.  

EU to be “climate-neutral” by 2050

In a statement issued to the European Council, just before the EU summit this week in Brussels, Germany has announced that it is behind the goal of a “climate-neutral” EU by 2050. A strategy to achieve that effect will be adopted by the beginning of next year at the latest.

“Climate neutrality” does not mean that greenhouse gas emissions will be entirely abandoned; instead, policies will be put in place to offset them. While reducing overall emissions and investing in green energy, the climate-damaging effects of remaining emissions will be compensated for. This could be through afforestation, for example, or capturing carbon dioxide and storing it underground.

Germany lends support to climate strategy

Such tactics were already laid out in the strategy presented by the European Commission last winter - however, at the time they received a fairly muted response. So far, Germany has been regarded as a major naysayer within the member states, even in the face of eight other states, including France, the Benelux countries, Denmark, Sweden, Spain and Portugal announcing their intention to strengthen their climate targets.

As recently as mid-May, Angela Merkel stated that German support for the EU climate goal was dependent on the German Climate Cabinet finding a “reasonable answer” on how to achieve it. Instead of just saying yes, she argued, Germany needed to establish a robust strategy of how to “underpin [it] and operate it well.” This latest turnaround would suggest that such a strategy has been found.

Tackling climate change: a global problem

With Germany throwing its weight behind support for the motion, it now appears even more likely that the European Council will adopt the higher target. In this way, the EU wants to be the international leader of the pack when it comes to tackling climate change. In September, a special meeting will take place between heads of state and government in New York to discuss a global strategy for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

The concentration of carbon dioxide - one of the major contributors to the so-called “greenhouse effect” - in the atmosphere is currently 45 percent higher than it was in 1750. Since then, the average global temperature has risen by around one degree. The Paris Agreement of 2016 stipulated that global warming would be kept well below two degrees above pre-industrial temperatures.

However, according to a recent UN study, the annual emissions of greenhouses gases rose to a new record high last year. The UN’s Environment Programme believes that states will have to triple their current efforts to achieve the two-degree goal. Germany is currently missing both national and binding European climate protection goals.