Despite Criticizing Trump, Europe Also Backtracks on Climate Action

European nations that criticized U.S. President Donald Trump for scaling back climate policies are scaling down their own climate targets one after another, facing backlash over rising energy prices and other issues.

The U.S. daily The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 23rd (local time) that governments in the European region, including Germany and the U.K., as well as European energy companies, are easing existing climate policies or lowering renewable energy development targets.

In Germany, Europe's largest economy, growing discontent over stagnant economic growth driven by paying some of the world's highest electricity bills led the government to cut taxes and fees used to fund renewable energy subsidies.

The German parliament also rescinded a provision that made expensive renewable energy systems mandatory for home heating, allowing oil and gas heating instead.

The U.K., which banned exploratory drilling last year, is moving toward allowing new oil production in the North Sea, the WSJ reported.

The European Union (EU) has proposed easing its carbon pricing system, which attaches a price to greenhouse gas emissions to encourage reductions, and allowing carmakers to sell gasoline-powered vehicles for a longer period.

European energy companies that once promoted renewable energy goals are also shifting their previous stances.

British energy firms Shell and BP have scrapped plans to build renewable energy-related plants or lowered their targets.

Shell dropped plans to build a biofuel plant in the Netherlands, while BP slashed project investment for its transition to green energy by more than 70 percent annually.

Equinor, Norway's state-owned oil and gas company, also abandoned its goal of generating 10 to 12 GW of renewable energy by 2030.

This shift in policy stance across the European region comes amid criticism that renewable energy policies have driven up energy prices, hurting the competitiveness of local European businesses and stalling economic growth.

Growing frustration among local citizens, who have had to endure high energy costs, is also cited as a cause for the policy shift.

The sharp drop in Russian natural gas supplies due to the war between Russia and Ukraine, which fueled surging energy prices, also contributed to European nations pivoting away from their climate policies.

To justify its own rapid pivot in climate policy, the Trump U.S. administration has pointed to the European Union as an example of a green policy gone wrong.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright criticized early this year that Europe had weakened itself through a "climate cult" and lost jobs to Asia, reducing economic opportunities for Europeans.

Despite these criticisms and controversies, voices calling for the continued pursuit of climate policies persist.

Some energy experts point out that while some existing policy goals had unrealistic aspects, pushing ahead with climate policies remains necessary to curb rising temperatures.

Scientists have also warned that climate change is worsening extreme weather events, such as droughts and wildfires that are turning European forests to ashes.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.