EU delays vote on 2040 climate emissions target, officials say

The Danish EU Presidency had initially planned for ministers to vote on the target during the Environment Council on September 18. However, an EU official told Euro News that countries were "not yet ready" and the discussion will now be postponed to the EU heads of state summit in October.

The European Commission had proposed a 90% emissions reduction target for 2040 compared to 1990 levels in July. The 2040 target is intended to follow the EU's existing 2030 goal of at least a 55% reduction compared to 1990 levels.

"We cannot support the text as it stands right now. It is not an ideal geopolitical timing. Also, the text was put on the table quite late," a second EU official told Euro News, adding that member states want a better balance between climate ambition and economic competitiveness.

An EU diplomat said the aim at the Council level in October is to have a "decisive" discussion, rejecting the possibility of a unanimity vote that would "reward the lowest bidders." However, the diplomat did not rule out the possibility that no decision would be reached even during the summit.

The 2040 climate target will influence national climate action plans under the Paris Agreement, which are expected to be presented at COP30 in Belem, Brazil. Some countries, including Slovakia and Hungary, have openly opposed the Commission's proposal, arguing it threatens industrial competitiveness. France, meanwhile, believes the decision should be made by EU leaders rather than ministers.

"These ideological proposals [2040 climate target] are more proof that Brussels bureaucrats have already lost basic contact with reality. They have no idea what economic danger the European and unfortunately the Slovak industry is in," Slovakia's Environment Minister Tomas Taraba said shortly after the proposal was announced.

Carbon credits, or tradable certificates allowing emissions of CO2, are also under discussion as part of the 2040 target. EU diplomats are considering rules to ensure that international credits do not interfere with the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), according to an official document. The possibility of storing CO2 outside the bloc is also being examined.

"We are not against this thought [carbon credits], but we would need more clarity on that," the second EU diplomat said. Austrian MEP Lena Schilling, responsible for the 2040 target in the European Parliament, called the consideration of carbon credits "irresponsible towards taxpayers" and a "betrayal" of youth.

"Diluting the EU climate target with carbon credits will only mean spending billions on pollution rights abroad instead of delivering real climate action here in Europe. We need at least a 90% reduction by 2040 within the EU," Schilling said.

Sven Harmeling, head of climate at Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe, warned that relying on international carbon credits could "severely undermine the ambition and environmental integrity of the EU contribution, while only delaying and increasing the cost of the transition."

"The EU would have to transfer outside of its borders up to tens of billions of euros that would have otherwise been invested in domestic decarbonisation," he added, according to Euro News. (ANI)