Overview

• The European Commission has formally tabled a binding target to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by 90% from 1990 levels by 2040, incorporating new flexibilities to secure wider support.
• For the first time, member states may meet up to 3 percentage points of the 2040 goal using carbon credits from developing nations, with purchases phased in from 2036.
• The proposal mandates robust standards on credit origin, timing and additionality to safeguard offset integrity and prevent diversion of investment from European decarbonisation.
• EU environment ministers will debate the draft in mid-July, followed by a European Parliament vote in September and a mid-September submission of the bloc’s 2035 NDC to the United Nations.
• France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the Czech Republic pressed for softened rules and sectoral flexibility, while scientific advisers and green groups warn that offsets risk undermining domestic emissions cuts