Overview

• Environment ministers in Brussels adopted a non-binding intention for 2035 that sketches a 66.25% to 72.5% cut in emissions from 1990 levels.
• The EU plans to present this intention at next week's UN General Assembly in New York rather than file a formal climate plan by the end-of-month deadline.
• The European Commission's proposal for a legally binding 2040 target of a 90% reduction, allowing up to three percentage points via international credits, did not secure agreement.
• Germany, France, Italy and Poland backed elevating the 2040 decision to EU leaders in October, a move that delays lawmaking and likely rules out sealing legislation before November's UN climate conference in Brazil.
• Italy, Czechia and Hungary deem the 2040 plan too ambitious while France demands stronger industrial support, drawing sharp criticism from lawmakers and analysts and prompting new climate protests by Fridays for Future.