Development Minister defends EU climate targets

Berlin – Federal Development Minister Reem Alabali Radovan (SPD) has backed the EU Commission's new climate protection targets for 2040. "The 90 percent target is ambitious, but correct," Alabali Radovan told the "Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung" (Saturday edition). "Climate change doesn't just bring record temperatures in Osnabrück or Schwerin. It causes and exacerbates international crises such as displacement, poverty, hunger, and wars." The fight against global warming is "a vital necessity, also to prevent further escalation in the future," said the SPD politician. "That simply has to be clear to everyone." EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Wednesday the goal of reducing CO2 emissions in Europe by 90 percent by 2040. Climate Protection Minister Carsten Schneider (SPD) praised the proposal from Brussels, but some sharp criticism came from the business community. Alabali Radovan acknowledged that "there is also growing resistance to climate protection measures in Germany." However, this week's heat "has probably made everyone realize that we have a gigantic task ahead of us in climate protection, one that is far from being completed," the minister said. "Global warming has long since become a perpetual struggle for countless poorer countries." The impression that no one except Europe cares about climate protection anymore is therefore false.