The future in their hands – the lawmakers in charge of Europe's climate bill

Euractiv

6 days ago

In the EU legislative machinery, the fractious European Parliament has the same say as governments over the fate of the 2040 climate bill, which calls for greenhouse gas emissions to be cut to a mere tenth of 1990 levels.
The political identity of the lawmakers tasked with steering it through Parliament — and into subsequent compromise talks with national delegates — could profoundly shape Europe's future climate policy, and the message the EU will take to UN talks in Brazil this autumn.
Here we introduce the MEPs in charge of the file. Lead negotiator Ondrej Knotek (Patriots for Europe) – The Czech lawmaker, whose ANO party was recently pushed out of liberal Renew group, secured the role of parliamentary rapporteur for the 2040 climate bill with backing from his new political family, the far-right Patriots for Europe group –which took control of the file this month, to the alarm of environmentalists.
The experienced MEP oscillates between two extremes. 'We shall not underestimate the effects of climate change, and we are expected by citizens of European nations to address it in the most effective way,' he said last week in the environment committee. However, a 'better understanding' of the 'extent to which mankind is contributing' would be required, along with an assessment of emissions from other countries.
'Your green bad deal does not decrease global emissions, but certainly economically destroys Europe,' he said. 'How dare you … bring a new climate law in this situation,' he added. The shadows While not tasked with drafting the European Parliament's position on the legislative bill, shadow rapporteurs largely coordinate their party's work on the file, including proposing amendments and participating in negotiations with national governments. They are listed here by descending size of political group.
Lídia Pereira (European People's Party) – The up-and-coming Portuguese MEP could be seen as the real force behind the 2040 climate bill, with the largest group in Parliament behind her and personal backing from the EPP's environment policy chief, Peter Liese. She led the Parliament's delegation to COP28 in Baku and is set to do so again at COP30 in Brazil.
She has taken on most climate-related files in the environment committee this term.
'Europe has a historic responsibility, but this is also a strategic opportunity,' Pereira said recently. 'We need to have clear targets for 2040,' she said, but 'what is even more important … is having flexibility'.
'Europe has to continue to take a leading role, and this has to become clear at COP30,' she said.
Javier López (Socialists & Democrats) - The Spanish socialist is an experienced environmental policymaker, having led negotiations on the Ambient Air Quality Directive and served as shadow rapporteur on the 2021 revision of the Effort Sharing Regulatio, the law that sets binding emissions targets to 2030 in sectors not covered by the EU Emissions Trading System, such as buildings, agriculture, waste, and transport. López is currently lead negotiator on a revision of the EU's water pollutants monitoring framework.
'We need an ambitious target of a 90% domestic reduction compared to 1990 levels, a target that is not only science-based, but also guided by social justice,' López told Euractiv. 'Such a target will give certainty to citizens, workers, and industries that the EU is serious about delivering on the Paris Agreement and fighting climate change.'
'This is not just an environmental obligation, it is a matter of social fairness, economic resilience, energy sovereignty, and inter-generational justice,' he said.
Alexandr Vondra...? (European Conservatives and Reformists) – The Czech conservative has been tipped as the likely choice for the eurosceptic ECR group. However, according to his office, Vondra has not yet decided whether he will take on the role of shadow rapporteur.
If confirmed, he is expected to oppose the proposal outright. The Czech politician recently called the 2040 bill 'an example of disgusting climate colonialism,' telling reporters he would not support it unless it is radically revised.
Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy (Renew Europe) – The veteran Dutch MEP, who sits with the liberal Renew group, is no stranger to climate negotiations, having served as lead negotiator on the original Effort Sharing Regulation in 2016. Gerbrandy is among a group of MEPs calling for the 2040 bill to be adopted before the COP30 summit in Brazil this November.
'We will work to have an adequate 2040 target on time for the COP30. I expect the parties in the centre to work together on this, because it is the only coalition of parties in the Parliament that can actually deliver results,' he told Euractiv.
Lena Schilling (Greens/EFA) – The Austrian Green is the youngest MEP in the house, as her team often reminds the press. Her influence on the 2040 climate file so far has been mostly procedural but significant. She failed in a bid to fast-track the bill through parliament in the hopes of limiting the Patriots' capacity to influence or delay the legislation, then she co-led a successful effort to set a tights a tighter timeline, thereby clipping Knotek's wings.
Brought up in the Fridays for Future movement that fuelled the 2019 green wave, Schilling is sharply focused on climate justice.
'I'm not negotiating this target just as a politician, but as part of the climate movement,' Schilling said in a recent statement. 'Our generation deserves a seat at the table. We won't stay silent while others decide our future.'
Catarina Martins (The Left) –The Portuguese MEP, elected last year for the Left Bloc (Bloco de Esquerda), is, alongside Lídia Pereira, a co-author of Parliament's COP30 resolution, which calls for strong parliamentary participation at the summit.
In line with her group's stance, Martins argues the target should go further than 90%. 'We must stick to the scientific advice, insist on at least 95% emissions reductions by 2040 — and without recourse to buying carbon credits from other countries,' she told Euractiv.
Martins said the 2040 climate bill had come came too late (the European Commission tabled it a year after the deadline set in EU law).
'Now [it] is in the hands of the extreme right, the same group that said at the ENVI committee meeting that they don't see any interest in this law – so it's not safe.' And that with a 'big help' from the EPP, she said in reference to the centre-right group's decision not to use its heft to put its own candidate in charge of the file.
Anja Arndt (Europe of Sovereign Nations) – The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) politician is arguably the diametrical opposite of her Green counterpart – an unreconstructed climate denier. Arndt is known in the Parliament's environment committee for repeatedly denying the existence of man-made climate change.
'This policy is not based on science, but on feigned – yes, feigned – eco-religious fanaticism,' she said last month of the 2040 climate bill. More recently, Arndt argued that the fight against climate disinformation was a 'front-on attack on freedom of expression, freedom of science, and the truth'.
(rh, aw)