Two leaders with opposite views: Finnish PM Antti Rinne (l) leads a country that wants to be climate-neutral by 2035, while his Polish colleague Mateusz Morawiecki (r) rejected a commitment to a climate-neutral EU by 2050 (Photo: Council of the European Union)

Four states block EU 2050 carbon neutral target

EU Political

Green Economy

by Peter Teffer, Brussels,

Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Estonia prevented the EU from adopting a clear long-term climate neutrality goal at the summit in Brussels on Thursday evening (20 June).

The central and eastern European leaders could not get behind a draft text which said the EU should take measures "to ensure a transition to a climate-neutral EU by 2050" - a date too specific for them.

Poland was leading the opposition, with support from the Czech Republic and Hungary.

A clear commitm...