EU countries give final approval to 2040 climate target for 90% emissions cut

Europe is aiming to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Read more at straitstimes.com.

BRUSSELS – European Union countries gave the final approval on March 5 to a new climate target to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 90 per cent by 2040, pressing ahead with the bloc’s ambitious climate agenda despite political resistance.

The new climate target is a hard-fought political compromise, struck by governments and EU lawmakers in 2025. It is more ambitious than most major economies’ emissions-cutting commitments, including China’s.

In practice, the target will require an 85 per cent emissions reduction from European industries against 1990 levels. The EU will pay developing countries via carbon credits, so they cut emissions on Europe’s behalf to make up the rest, to reach 90 per cent.

The EU agreed on the target in 2025 following months of wrangling among countries.

Spain said worsening droughts and wildfires justified more ambitious goals. Poland and Italy, on the other hand, sought to soften the emissions cuts, arguing that struggling industries cannot afford the upfront investments.

A reinforced majority of EU countries’ ministers gave the final formal sign-off to the legally binding goal at a meeting in Brussels. The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary opposed it. The climate target will now pass into EU law.