German Chancellor Angela Merkel has thrown her weight behind the European Commission’s proposal to increase the bloc’s climate target to a 55 percent greenhouse gas reduction by 2030. Speaking in federal parliament, she said the country’s current EU Council presidency would work towards achieving a unanimous decision by all EU member states by the end of the year, according to CLEW.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said the German presidency of the EU Council would “fight” to make member states agree a greenhouse gas reduction target of 55 percent, as proposed by the European Commission, describing climate action as the “large task for the future that we must put at the forefront.” Speaking in the German parliament during a federal budget debate, she added: “By the end of the presidency, our aim is to have a unanimous decision by all member states that we agree on this 55 percent target for the EU.”
This has to be achieved by the end of the year to allow for regulatory implementation in 2021, Merkel said.

The European Commission under president Ursula von der Leyen has proposed an increase in the bloc’s 2030 greenhouse gas reduction target to “at least 55 percent” (currently 40%), but the decision is far from taken. Member states, some of which have cautioned against too much ambition, still need to agree on their position before a final target is embedded in the planned EU climate law after negotiations with the European Parliament.