BRUSSELS — The European Union’s environment ministers drew up battle lines Monday for the future of the bloc’s Green Deal.
At their meeting in Brussels, ministers were set to briefly discuss the EU’s next climate policy milestone — a collective target for reducing emissions by 2040. Instead, the session turned into a fervid two-hour debate.
In an emotional statement, Ireland’s Climate Minister Eamon Ryan described current changes in the climate — like record-high ocean temperatures — as “terrifying” and appealed to his colleagues to back ambitious action rather than give in to green backsliding.
“Rather than giving clarity and certainty, it seems to me that what Brussels and our political system is giving is the exact opposite,” he said. “We seem to be in retreat for some of the commitments we have made.”
