Miriam Dalli: ‘I can never agree with uncontrolled development’
She led negotiations at EU level on CO2 vehicle emissions, and as the Social and Democrats’ vice president for the European Green Deal, she called on the European Commission to step outside the Brussels bubble. MEP Miriam Dalli answers Sarah Carabott’s questions about climate change.
Are you happy with the proposed climate law?
The European Commission’s commitment to introduce into EU legislation a 2050 carbon neutrality target is just a first step, and while it is in the right direction, it lacks a proper pathway on how we will get there. The climate law should be about setting a framework that ensures that future EU measures are put in place by all the member states so that they comply with the 2050 target.
My main concern is that 2050 is far away, and without clear intermediate targets for 2030 and 2040, the EU will not be incentivising all sectors to concretely act now. Instead, it will leave room for postponing the required action. Unfortunately, the European Commission in its proposal does not commit itself with intermediate targets.
To achieve carbon neutrality the EU needs to completely overhaul the way it thinks and acts. Every member state, sector and industry need to...