EU Split On Proposed Date To Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions By 90%

Nations in Europe are sharply divided on set target period to reduce greenhouse emissions.
This week’s EU summit debated how to bridge the divide within the bloc regarding interim 2040 emission-reduction targets as the European Union insists on becoming a net-zero area by 2050.

The EU member states however remain divided over the proposal of the European Commission to officially endorse setting a 2040 climate target to reduce the EU’s net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 90 per cent by 2040, relative to 1990.

The draft for the EU summit of the bloc’s leaders this week included a so-called “revision clause,” opening the door to potentially weakening the 2035-2040 emission targets if green energy fails to meet expectations, according to draft documents prepared for the summit seen by Reuters.

Some countries, including the Nordic EU member states, are pressing for adopting the 90 per cent emission cut target by 2040. Still, many Central and Eastern European members argue there should be room for leeway, exemptions, and future revisions of the targets.

Earlier this week, the EU environment and climate ministers delayed, yet again, a decision on the 2035-2040 climate targets, weeks ahead of next month’s COP30 global climate summit in Belem, Brazil.

“The EU stands on a strong European mandate for COP30. We must leave Belém with a clear path forward to keep 1.5 within reach,” Lars Aagaard, Denmark’s Minister for energy, climate and utilities, said this week.

However, the three biggest EU economies – Germany, France, and Italy – as well as Hungary and Slovakia are resisting an official rigid target, fearing their industries would further lose competitiveness, Euronews reports.

The European Commission and the EU face growing calls from within and from top business partners, such as top LNG exporters the U.S. and Qatar, to prioritise economies and industries instead of climate goals and emissions targets.

The EU will seek to address criticism that a new emissions trading system for fuel combustion in buildings and road transport will have unbearable costs for consumers by introducing additional measures to lower these costs, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a recent letter to EU leaders.