EU risks losing role in climate policy, NGOs warn

The European Union is failing to provide much-needed leadership on climate issues, a group of French and German non-governmental organizations (NGOs) warned on Wednesday.

In a letter addressed to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron, the associations said that “10 years after the historic climate conference in Paris, the European Union is in danger of losing its leading role in international climate protection.”

The EU must be a voice in global climate policy in the face of increasingly tangible consequences of climate change, the NGOs said. “It is therefore crucial that Germany and France, as the largest European economies, speak with one voice.”

The letter – co-authored by the German League for Nature and Environment, Climate Alliance Germany and Climate Action Network France – calls on Paris and Berlin to make a clear commitment to the European Commission’s proposed 2040 target to reduce emissions by 90% compared to 1990 levels.

The goal includes options to offset emissions through international carbon credits – a source of controversy.

The proposal must be approved by EU member states as well as the European Parliament, but faces resistance in several capitals.

An interim target for 2035 still needs to be submitted before the next UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in November.