EU nations weaken 2040 climate goals to cut 90% of emissions

The news: The European Commission said on Wednesday that the member states have agreed to reduce emissions by 90% by 2040 compared with 1990 levels after marathon talks saw some proposals be watered down to reach agreement.

The numbers: Following 18 hours of negotiations, member states also agreed to cut emissions between 66.3% and 72.5% by 2035 as part of a submission to the UN that was required ahead of the COP30 summit next week.

The context: The European Council said that members approved an updated nationally determined contribution (NDC) which it said reiterates the EU's goal of achieving a net reduction of 55% in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030.

Bloomberg reports that a key element of the Tuesday climate talks centred on the push to increase the use of international carbon credits under Article 6 of the Paris accord. The limit will be increased to 5% of the union’s baseline net emissions in 1990 compared to the 3% original proposed by the Commission. Use of the credits would begin with a five-year pilot phase in 2031, five years earlier than sought by the Commission. This means the EU will be obliged to reduce emissions domestically by 85% and rely for the remaining 5% on cheaper imported credits.