The EU is considering a climate target for every decade

John E. Kaye
- Published
- News, Sustainability

European Union (EU) countries are taking into consideration a new climate target for 2040, to give the bloc an emissions-cutting goal for each decade between now and 2050, when it hopes to reach “net zero” emissions, under proposals seen by Reuters.
To make its climate targets legally binding, the EU is aiming to strike a deal this year and member states will start discussions about the topic next week.
Germany, the lead in talks between the countries, is proposing to fix a new EU emissions reduction target for 2040 to keep countries on track for the bloc’s flagship goal to become climate neutral by 2050.
“Where it is necessary for the achievement of the climate neutrality objective… a Union-wide climate target for 2040 shall be set,” the document said.
Currently, the EU has emissions reduction goals for 2020, 2030 and 2050.
The climate law will need approval from EU member states and the European Parliament. While the 2040 target is unlikely to be a point of contention, lawmakers and countries are split over how strict other parts of the law should be.
The German proposal would enforce the EU’s 2050 net zero emissions target at an EU-wide level.
Members of the parliament, who will attempt to agree their position on the law next week, want a binding commitment for every member state to decarbonize by 2050.
This is opposed by eastern countries who say the goal is unrealistic but supported by campaigners who say it is aligned with the emissions pathway scientists say would avoid the most severe impacts of climate change.
“This should be a no brainer,” Greenpeace climate policy adviser Sebastian Mang said, of setting national 2050 climate neutrality goals.
Reported by Kate Abnet
Sourced Reuters
For more Energy and Daily news follow The European Magazine
Follow us on
Sign up to The European Newsletter
RECENT ARTICLES
-
UK businesses increase AI investment despite economic uncertainty, Barclays index finds
-
French CEOs warn politics and geopolitics now threaten bottom lines, ESSEC study finds
-
Study links female-dominated classrooms to higher lifetime earnings for women
-
Inside London’s £1bn super-hotel with £20k penthouses, private butlers and a gilded eagle
-
Kia America hits record monthly sales as EV demand surges
-
Trump family’s crypto debut adds $5bn to fortune amid ethics row
-
Warren Buffett turns 95 – the secrets behind a $130 billion fortune
-
Most game developers now using AI in their workflows, Google Cloud study finds
-
BlackRock takes $89m stake in Freedom Holding, emerging as second-largest shareholder
-
Welcome to Britain’s most exclusive founders’ network with £1M entry bar
-
Portugal’s GR22 crowned Europe’s most rewarding hiking trail
-
Music faces a bum note without elephant dung, new research warns
-
Fermi America secures $350m in financing led by Macquarie Group
-
Cambodia to rename key highway after Donald Trump for brokering peace deal
-
Want your business to succeed? Start with your own wellbeing, say SME leaders
-
The five superyacht shows that matter most
-
Short circuit: humanoids go for gold at first 'Olympics for robots'
-
Return to sender? Royal Mail’s red boxes go high-tech
-
New IBM–NASA AI aims to forecast solar flares before they knock out satellites or endanger astronauts
-
Uber plots Channel Tunnel disruption with app-bookable high-speed trains
-
Global tech leaders back Nigeria’s $1 trillion digital ambition at GITEX Nigeria 2025
-
Scientists are racing to protect sea coral with robots and AI as heatwaves devastate reefs
-
Game, set...wax. Billie Jean King statue unveiled in New York
-
Vegas on a losing streak as visitors drop 11%
-
The European launches new Digital Content Exchange Network