“I urge the environment ministers gathering tomorrow to support genuine European competitiveness that is both socially responsible and environmentally sustainable.”
On Tuesday, 27 environment ministers will meet in Brussels to negotiate the EU’s new climate target for 2040, but as of the eve of their meeting, there’s no certainty of reaching an agreement.
The Commission aims for the EU to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent from 1990 levels by 2040. To secure sufficient government support, the EU executive proposed outsourcing up to 3 percentage points of this target, allowing the bloc to pay other countries to reduce pollution on its behalf through purchasing carbon credits.
This proposal hasn’t convinced enough governments, and ministers will debate on Tuesday whether to increase the portion of carbon credits.
Increasing the offshoring of emission reductions would enable EU industry and households to lessen pollution more gradually, but the bloc’s scientific advisors have cautioned this could shift funds away from essential investments in domestic climate initiatives.
Ministers will also consider adding clauses that would require the Commission to lower the target if economic conditions deteriorate or specific sub-targets prove unattainable.
Both increased credit usage and extensive revision clauses could lead to a weaker goal, even if ministers leave the headline figure of 90 percent unchanged on Tuesday.
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