The agreement of the new Flemish government is deliberately ambiguous on its climate objectives. Negotiating a Climate plan with French speakers will once again be difficult.
The new Flemish government does not make the climate its major priorityeven if he promises to act. “We are not going to work rashly,” warns Minister-President Matthias Diependaele (N-VA). Each decision will be evaluated “in relation to the competitiveness of companies and the degree of acceptance by citizens”. This means…
Climate objectives are being revised downwards almost everywhere in Europe, under economic pressure. The north of the country is no exception to the rule, even if it is more ambiguous than that. Because in the trio N-VA – CD&V – Vooruit, the Flemish socialists were demanding ambition in this area.
47% off, if…
The text thus plans to revise ambitions upwards… conditionally. Text: “If the annual emissions monitoring shows that Flanders achieves an emissions reduction of 40%, Flanders will increase its climate ambition to 47%, provided that this increase is supported by additional measures prepared in due time.” In the chilly genre, it is difficult to do better.
It’s all the more chilly as the measures planned to date should not allow Flanders to do better than a reduction of 32% by 2030. According to an expert cited by Littereven this figure could prove too high. Because Flanders intends to invest in public transport, but does not focus on low-emission zones, will remove the bonus for the purchase of an electric car and is above all committed to supporting its industry.
The ball is in the Walloon court
During the previous legislature, the conclusion of a national climate plan had already been difficult due to a lack of will from the N-VA Climate Minister, Zuhal Demir. This time, she will be in charge of a super portfolio combining Education and Justice. The climate negotiations will not remain any less perilous, even if the minister in charge, Melissa Depraetere (Vooruit), will be more conciliatory.
On the Walloon side, newcomer Cécile Neven, former CEO of Akt for Wallonia, says she does not want to deviate from climate ambitionpreserved in the government agreement. It tends to invest in the conclusion of this federal agreement, but while defending the interests of Wallonia and its companies.
If there is a national plan, it risks once again being difficult to conclude and risks being, here too, deliberately vague.
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