
(ANSA) - PRAGUE, 07 LUG - Slovakia will not support the European Union's new climate goal of cutting emissions by 90 percent by 2040, the news site DennikN.SK reports, citing Slovak Environment Minister Tomáš Taraba. "The Brussels bureaucrats have lost touch with reality. Either they have no idea how economically threatened European industry—and, unfortunately, Slovak industry as well—is, or they don't care," the minister said, noting that top automotive-sector leaders are destroying Europe's competitiveness on three fronts. According to the minister, the emissions-reduction target is a goal that no one outside the EU is pursuing, which makes production far too costly. Second, energy prices are much too high, and third, there is a lack of waste-to-energy incineration plants. "On every single point, Brussels and the Slovak opposition are on the same side. Through sanctions, they want to drive up the price of energy, they weaken industry by pushing for deeper emissions cuts, and by attacking every planned incinerator, they are telling industry: Don't make anything here—go to other countries," Taraba said. The EU has set a goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. The Commission proposes cutting emissions by up to 90 percent of 1990 levels by 2040. Some countries, such as the Czech Republic and Italy, do not regard this goal as realistic, according to DennikN.sk. (ANSA).