2023-05-24 04:16:00
Like Flemish Energy Minister Zuhal Demir and French President Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo is also in favor of a “pause” on European climate legislation, he said. Tuesday evening on the VRT program Terzake.
“At some point, you have to make a choice. Is it time to do everything at the same time?”, asks the Prime Minister.
For Mr De Croo, legislation should not be “overloaded” by tightening standards for nitrogen, nature restoration and biodiversity, in addition to targets for CO2 emissions.
According to the Prime, this would have two harmful consequences. First, industry might no longer keep up, and CO2 reduction targets will not be met, predicts De Croo. Moreover, the current momentum in favor of the climate might be lost, says the head of government.
“That’s why I’m asking that we press ‘pause’. Let’s not go too far with things that, strictly speaking, have nothing to do with global warming. These other topics are also important, but they must be more phased in time”, recommend Alexander De Croo.
The first reactions to the words of the Prime were not long in coming.
Zuhal Demir said to himself “surprise”. “The federal government’s turn is a good thing, but it is insufficient”believes the Flemish nationalist minister.
On the side of Ecolo, a federal partner, the Minister of Climate, Environment, Sustainable Development and the Green Deal, Zakia Khattabi, did not hide her astonishment. “Where to start…I don’t even know right now, just: that’s not the #begov position!!”she reacted on Twitter.
The co-president of Ecolo, Jean-Marc Nollet, for his part qualifies the statements of Alexander De Croo as“hallucinating”estimating that “It is not the Prime Minister who spoke tonight.”
On the side of Groen, the statements of Alexander De Croo are judged “scandalous” et “not covered by the government”. “European agreements are not scraps of paper”, tackle co-presidents Jeremie Vaneeckhout and Nadia Naji. “Nature and climate are inseparable. We don’t need a break, but an acceleration.”
As for the president of the Climate Coalition, Nicolas Van Nuffel, he judges, also on Twitter, that the statements of the Prime Minister are “completely incomprehensible”. “Separating the climate crisis from the collapse of biodiversity is the worst solution. The problem of exceeding planetary limits is systemic, the solutions must be systemic. The response to resistance is not backtracking but real support for the sectors in transition”he adds.
1684909651
#Alexander #Croo #favor #pause #European #climate #standards #amazing #criticizes #Ecolo
