New EU climate law "more than just trend-setting," says German minister

BERLIN, April 21 (Xinhua) -- The new European Union (EU) climate law was "more than just trend-setting," said German Minister for the Environment Svenja Schulze on Wednesday, adding that it would make climate protection in the bloc "binding and irreversible."

The EU climate law would "create firm guard rails for politics and the economy in Europe," Schulze noted in a statement. "For the first time, climate targets were anchored in European law."

On Wednesday, EU negotiators reached an agreement on the European Climate Law, increasing the bloc's 2030 net greenhouse gas emissions reduction target from 40 percent to at least 55 percent compared to 1990 levels.

Schulze said it is now important that the other major economies are also making further commitments to raising their climate targets.

For Germany, the EU decision would mean to "significantly increase our pace of climate protection," said Schulze. The expansion of solar and wind power had to be accelerated, while the phase-out of coal would take place more quickly than previously planned.

According to data from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), wind power already replaced coal as Germany's biggest energy source in 2020, accounting for 25.6 percent. Germany seeks to finally phase out coal by 2038 at the latest.

Peter Altmaier, the Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, said in a statement on Tuesday that with clear long-term targets, "we now have a unique opportunity to advance and reconcile climate protection and the economy jointly."

"We can secure jobs and create new ones by investing in innovation and new clean technologies," added Altmaier.

In a tweet sent on Wednesday from its official account, the European Commission said: "The European Climate Law turns our #EUGreenDeal targets into legal obligations: reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030, reaching climate neutrality by 2050."