Ministers of the Environment from France, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, Latvia and Luxembourg all signed a letter to the EU's top climate official, Frans Timmermans, calling on him to raise the goal for emissions reduction from 40% to 55% by 2030. The letter urges the EU to get tougher on climate change to underpin the European Green Deal and thus help to spur on the bold measures needed across all sectors of the economy.

President of the European Commission Ursula Von der Leyen has already tasked Timmermans, the former Dutch foreign minister, with increasing the 2030 goal from 40% to “at least” 55%.