Prague – In the vote on the European Union’s climate goal to reduce emissions by 90 percent by 2040, the Czech Republic will oppose it at the Council of Ministers for the Environment. Environment Minister Petr Hladík (KDU-ČSL) said this to reporters today. According to him, the Czech Republic has long rejected this goal, as it is unrealistic for an industrial country like the Czech Republic. The Council meets on Tuesday in Brussels.
“The Czech Republic should be a country that advocates realistic and fair climate goals. We consider the goal of reducing emissions by 90 percent by 2040 to be unrealistic and risky given the current geopolitical and economic situation. We advocate for goals to be achievable and also fair to individual states,” Hladík said.
He pointed out that the Czech Republic is a technologically and industrially oriented country. “We do not yet see sufficient technological options to achieve such an ambitious goal without a fundamental impact on key industrial sectors such as chemistry or materials production,” he stated. He added that this is why the Czech Republic insists on technological neutrality, meaning that support should also include nuclear energy, hydrogen production, and technologies for carbon capture and storage.
Hladík emphasized that at the same time, the Czech Republic is not a country that lags behind in climate protection. On the contrary, the goal of reducing emissions by 50 percent by 2030 according to the Paris Agreement will not only be met but is very likely to be exceeded before this deadline.
For the proposal to pass at the council, it must be supported by at least 66 percent of the EU population and at least 15 member states. The Czech Republic represents 2.4 percent of the EU population. “If we want to block the proposal, we need to gain support from at least 35 percent of the EU population,” the minister said.
“Our goal is not to reject climate ambitions, but to set them realistically so that they correspond to the technological and economic capabilities of individual states. It is crucial that the commitment is pan-European and not fully transferred to individual countries,” Hladík added. The minister noted that the Czech position aligns with France, Poland, and Italy, as all these countries have a strong industry and are developing nuclear energy. (November 3)
