On Monday, at the CERA‑Week energy conference in Houston, Texas, German Economy Minister Katherina Reiche (CDU) appeared to cast doubt on the EU’s 2050 climate target. “We need to become more flexible again” she reportedly said, “and not settle only for 100‑percent solutions. We must allow different approaches and technologies and admit that by 2050 there could still be a gap of around five or ten percent”.
Reiche made clear that she is not opposed to sustainability or any climate goal. She added that a climate objective that ignores key factors such as the availability and affordability of energy warrants a course correction. “If you set rigid, inflexible goals, you end up locking yourself in, and ultimately you lose the industries you need-especially the energy‑intensive ones” she explained. “We can’t afford to lose Europe’s, and Germany’s, energy‑intensive industries. Sustainability is a good thing, but if it brings the economy to the brink, we must rethink it”.
