German coalition negotiators agree to scrap 2020 climate target
(VOVWORLD) - Negotiators for German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative bloc and the center-left Social Democrats have agreed to drop plans to lower carbon dioxide emissions by 40% from 1990 levels by 2020.
In exploratory talks on forming a government on Monday, both parties were still sticking to their goal of achieving a 55% cut in emissions by 2030.
Negotiators said 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. Reuters reported that both parties had also agreed that the share of renewable energy in Germany’s electricity consumption should rise to 65% by 2030 from roughly a third last year. Currently, the German government plans to raise the renewable energy quota to between 45 and 55% by 2025.