On Monday, German Economy Minister Katherina Reiche (CDU) raised questions about the EU’s 2050 climate target while speaking at the CERA-Week energy fair in Houston, Texas, according to the news portal Politico.
Reiche said that Europe “must become more flexible, no longer content with only 100 percent solutions, but should allow and accept a range of solutions and technologies-and that by 2050 there may still be a gap of around five or ten percent”. She added that she is not against sustainability or a climate goal, but warned that a target that overlooks critical factors such as the availability and affordability of energy could warrant a course correction.
“In setting strict and rigid goals, we bind ourselves, and ultimately we lose the very industries we need-especially those that are energy‑intensive” Reiche told Politico. “Europe and Germany cannot afford to lose our energy‑intensive sectors. Sustainability is a good thing, but if it collapses the economy, we must rethink it”.