EU Commission proposes 90% emissions reduction by 2040

Brussels (dpa) – The European Commission proposed a binding 90 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, compared to 1990 levels, as it unveiled its new EU climate target on Wednesday.

The European Union aims to become climate neutral by 2050, meaning that no more greenhouse gas emissions are generated than can be absorbed either by nature or by technical means.

Currently EU countries are obliged to cut climate-damaging emissions across the bloc by 55 percent compared to 1990 by the end of the decade.

Since the EU’s climate law was first adopted by capitals and the European Parliament in 2021, opponents of the bloc’s climate action and environmental ambitions have gathered force, arguing that the measures hamper economic progress.

“We are not choosing between the economy and the green agenda, we are choosing both. Europe reaffirms its commitment to a fair, ambitious, and competitive green transition,” said Commission Vice-President Teresa Ribera.

“Agreeing on the 90 percent climate target provides us with a clear lighthouse to guide our future actions,” she added.

The bill presented on Wednesday has to be negotiated by EU countries and the European Parliament before the new climate target can enter into force. 

Under the plans, member states would be granted more flexibility to achieve the climate targets. So far, they have only been able to count domestic greenhouse gas reductions.

From 2036, the proposal allows carbon credits from non-EU countries to count for up to 3 percent of the overall 90 percent reduction compared to 1990 levels.

The German government had called for such a mechanism ahead of the presentation of the target.

UN climate talks

The EU climate targets are linked to the United Nations’ Paris Agreement on climate change, which was adopted 10 years ago, with the aim to limit global warming to well below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Under the agreement, the EU has to submit a climate action plan for the period up to 2035 ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference, dubbed COP30, in Brazil in November.

EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said he hopes for an agreement by member states and the EU parliament on the details of the new 2040 target in time for the climate conference.

In May, the Commission said that EU countries were on track to cut harmful greenhouse gas emissions by 54 percent by 2030, bringing them close to the EU’s target of 55 percent.

The bloc’s executive arm also urged capitals at the time to stay on course and to fully implement their reduction plans. (2 July)