Germany hits climate target thanks to pandemic

Germany said Tuesday it had met its national climate goal for 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic helped to drive the biggest reduction in emissions for three decades in Europe's biggest economy.

Greenhouse gas emissions last year were around 41 percent lower than 1990 levels, the biggest yearly decline in more than three decades, the environment minister said.

"It's clear that the coronavirus pandemic has fuelled the reduction in emissions," Svenja Schulze told reporters, warning there was "no reason to relax".

"Catastrophes and economic crises cannot replace sensible climate policy and sustainable restructuring of our economy," she added.

The annual figures published Tuesday showed that Germany had emitted 739 million tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2020, a reduction of 70 million tonnes on 2019 levels.

There were significant reductions in key areas.

With flights grounded and shops shuttered as governments scrambled to stop contagion of the coronavirus, emissions in the transport sector slumped 11.4 percent and those from the energy sector fell by 14.5 percent.

The only sector to miss its 2020 targets was buildings, with Schulze noting that people had spent more time at home with the heating on during the pandemic.

The Federal Environment Office (UBA), which is responsible for the annual figures, said that around a third of the emissions reductions could be put down to "the coronavirus effect", while the rest were the result of policy and structural changes.

"I was worried that climate protection might be neglected in the pandemic, but thankfully that hasn't proved to be the case," said UBA president Dirk Messner.

2020 was the first year since the introduction of Germany's new climate change law in late 2019.

Criticised by environmental activists and industry lobbyists alike, the sweeping policy package aims to reduce Germany's greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent from 1990 levels by 2030.

It includes a range of policies, including incentivising renewable energies, expanding electric car infrastructure and carbon trading.

Germany began 2021 by shutting down a coal-fired power plant near Cologne as part of its phaseout of coal by 2038 and slapping a CO2 price on transport.

From January 1, 2021, the government is charging 25 euros ($30) per tonne of carbon dioxide emissions released by the transport and heating sectors.

Belgium taken to court over climate inaction
Brussels (AFP) March 16, 2021 - Some 60,000 Belgians are suing the government for inaction in the fight against global warming in a case that opened on Tuesday in a civil court in Brussels.

Launched in 2015 by the association "Klimatzaak" (the climate case, in Dutch), the procedure follows a similar one in the Netherlands that led to a ruling against the Dutch government.

The cases attack governments for not respecting the greenhouse gas emission reduction targets set by the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

In the Belgian case, the accusation alleges that Belgium failed to reduce its overall carbon emissions by "40 percent or at least 25 percent" by 2020 compared to 1990 levels, the updated thresholds linked to the Paris pact.

In addition, the association is asking the court to ensure that Belgium complies with the European objectives that are part of the EU's much vaunted Green Deal.

Announced in 2019, these set a net reduction in emissions of at least 55 percent by 2030 in order to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

Four authorities have been summoned to appear before the court: Belgium's federal government and the governments of the country's three regions (Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels), which also handle the environment.

The plaintiffs accuse them of failing to lead on climate policy "as any normally prudent and diligent public authorities would have done", their lawyers said.

"Their negligence contributes to the accelerated progression towards dangerous global warming," they added.

The lawyers alleged a violation of several international agreements, including the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, which stipulates that children should "enjoy the highest attainable standard of health".

"Given the importance and urgency of the case, we are asking for a penalty payment of one million euros for each month of delay in the execution of the judgement," they added.

The pleadings, which began on Tuesday, are due to last until March 26, after which the court will begin deliberations.

In 2015, about 900 Dutch citizens won a verdict against their government, a decision that was later upheld in several Dutch appeal courts.

French MPs back climate clause in constitution
Paris (AFP) March 16, 2021 - French lawmakers on Tuesday backed a wide-ranging bill that includes a plan to enshrine environmental protection in the constitution, proposed by a citizen's body set up by President Emmanuel Macron last year.

Macron, who is seeking the upper hand in what could be a key issue in next year's elections, has promised a referendum on the bill if it gains approval in both houses of parliament.

The proposals came from a Citizen's Convention on Climate set up to respond to demands by "yellow vest" anti-government protesters for greater direct democracy.

The delegates came up with 149 proposals, including altering the first article of the constitution, which sets out the founding principles of the French republic.

The government has suggested adding a clause stating that France "guarantees environmental protection and biological diversity, and combats climate change".

In Tuesday's vote in the National Assembly, where Macron has a majority, 391 deputies voted in favour of the revision, 47 against and 115 abstained.

The bill now faces a tougher fight in the Senate, where the rightwing Republicans hold the majority.

Opponents on the right fear a constitutional clause would discourage private enterprise and have called to replace the word "guarantees" with less restrictive phrasing.

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, whom polls show as the biggest threat to Macron in next year's vote, denounced the proposed clause as "political posturing" while presenting her own environmental plan last week.

Leftwing parties and NGOs also accused the president of trying to score a PR victory.

They pushed unsuccessfully for a principle of "non-regression" that would prohibit any softening of environmental laws.

Under French law, a referendum can be submitted to a vote only if it is approved in identical wording by both houses of parliament.

The Senate is set to take up the issue in May, and the government is hoping to organise a referendum for September.

But the vote could prove risky for Macron if voters use it to express broader discontent with the president's leadership.

The last referendum in France was in 2005, when voters were asked to back the creation of a European constitution, which was rejected in a humiliating defeat for president Jacques Chirac.

When green energy is the 'default' choice consumers stay loyal to renewables
Washington DC (UPI) Mar 11, 2021
Both commercial and residential consumers accept the slightly higher price for energy from renewable sources when green energy is presented as the "default" option. The strategy - dubbed the "green default" and described Thursday in the journal nature Human Behavior - could help policy makers speed up the transition from traditional electricity sources to renewable energy sources. Scientists recruited two Swiss energy suppliers to test the efficacy of the green default strategy. ... read more