Politics & Law

The German government agreed on Wednesday to ramp up its greenhouse gas emissions cuts to reach climate neutrality by 2045 after the country’s top court ruled its current targets put the freedoms of younger generations at risk.

The European Commission’s new Zero Pollution Action Plan sets out broad 2030 targets covering air, water soil, biodiversity, noise and waste – but green groups argue it contains little in the way of concrete new commitments or targets.

The Spanish supreme court has struck down the ‘Madrid Central’ low-emission zone introduced in 2018, meaning the city council will have to approve replacement regulations within two months or face rising road transport emissions and possible EU fines.

Green deal chief Frans Timmermans has defended planned reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy as a step towards sustainable farming, while green groups express concern about a lack of transparency in how member states’ strategic plans will be assessed.

After German chancellor Angela Merkel pledged to slash her country’s emissions to net zero by 2045 at this year’s Petersberg Climate Dialogue (PCD), environmental campaigners have called on their governments to accelerate climate action and boost their climate finance.