The European Commission said on Tuesday that the European Union must cut greenhouse gas emissions by 90 per cent by 2040, Politico reports.
The EU executive’s recommendation comes at a time when the bloc’s green policies are facing a growing backlash, particularly from farmers, and was preceded by the announcement of the cancellation of the controversial Pesticide Reduction Bill. EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra told the European Parliament in Strasbourg:
“Today is another step in the EU’s journey towards climate neutrality.”
The intermediate target would be a stepping stone between the bloc’s 2050 climate neutrality target and its 2030 emissions reduction target of 55 per cent. As of 2022, the bloc’s emissions will be 32.5 per cent lower than in 1990. Hoekstra added:
“We are now launching a dialogue — let me stress that word, a dialogue — on the pathway toward 2040.”
This recommendation is not a legislative proposal, which will be in the hands of the next Commission after this summer’s EU elections. The European Parliament and EU members must also agree before any 2040 target can be enshrined in law.
The recommendation is based on an assessment of three different options: 80 per cent target, resembling a linear trajectory between the bloc’s 2030 and 2050 targets; 85-90 per cent reduction; and 90-95 per cent reduction.
In 2023, the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change supported the last option in its own assessment, stating that a 90-95 per cent reduction in emissions would be “fair and feasible”.
