With Europeans sizzling in a record-breaking heatwave in May, and lands and rivers facing severe drought conditions in April, the effects of extreme climate-related events are becoming increasingly obvious. We sit down with the EU's Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth, Dutch politician Wopke Hoekstra, to talk about the EU's carbon emissions reduction targets, the next COP summit, and, of course, the energy crisis resulting from the war in the Middle East. We begin by asking Hoekstra if the EU is being more proactive in learning lessons from the current energy crisis than it has been in the past. "I think, in all honesty, the jury is out," Hoekstra replies. "This crisis will take longer and we are still calibrating and improving our response. But it is crystal clear that, if you look at all the previous crises, in hindsight, we should have done more. We should have done more in the domains of renewables, in terms of electrification, in terms of nuclear, because that would have saved us at least partially from the problems we're currently having." Is the crisis an opportunity to press home the green transition and energy independence? "There is a potential silver lining," Hoekstra answers. "But at the same time, I can very much understand that when viewers are watching and they're seeing their energy prices going up, the last thing they want to hear is politicians talking about, 'Well, hey, this is a great opportunity for you!'" He continues: "What is of course true is that whether you do it for climate, for competitiveness, or for independence, the answer of more clean, homegrown, cheap European energy, that is what we need. It works for solving the climate problem. It will finally give us lower prices for our consumers and our industry. And it basically ends this geopolitical nightmare of being so responsible in the domain of energy. It was probably always off the mark to think about energy as just a market. It is a matter of national and European security, and that is the way it should be treated." We point out that the EU's 2030 target for reducing CO2 emissions is an overarching goal, while EU member states have their own national goals. Is the divergence in levels of ambition a problem? "No, as long as you have the same minimum bar and that is the one we have set," Hoekstra replies. "And some countries are doing phenomenally well overall. For example, if you look at how Denmark and Sweden have been doing, that is absolutely amazing. Others are doing very well in specific domains. For example, France is one of the absolute leaders in nuclear and therefore also in electrification, which has a huge upside for those consuming the electricity. Others are doing a phenomenal job in renewables. So the name of the game here is: let's make sure the minimum bar is being made by everyone." Hoekstra goes on: "And something we can (also) do at a European level is to have the same scenarios on what temperatures are going to be like and what that demands from policymakers. This might sound like an abstract thing, but it is hugely important to have the same understanding of what is happening and how that will affect our society." We ask Hoekstra about the controversial idea of EU countries using international carbon credits from 2036 and counting those towards their own C02 reduction targets. "I stand by that proposal," Hoekstra says. "We are the amongst the most ambitious globally. I don't know any other geography of our size and economic importance that does the same as Europe in terms of a 90 percent ambition for 2040. Full stop. And then I think it is also fair to allow for at least a bit of flexibility into the system, which does not mean lowering the bar. Because the logic of these credits is cost-effectiveness. The vast majority of things we need to do (will be) on European soil. But then allowing ourselves to – if that is cost-effective and only if – to then do a bit of the work outside of Europe, I think is actually a smart thing. Climate change doesn't discriminate. It just matters how many things we pump into the air, how many emissions we have. And if we can actually drive things down in Europe, but also in other places, that is in essence a very good thing." Programme prepared by Oihana Almandoz, Perrine Desplats and Aline Bottin.
