Overview
- Environment ministers approved a legally binding target to reduce EU greenhouse gas emissions 90% by 2040 from 1990 levels.
- Up to 5% of the reduction can come from emissions cuts purchased abroad, with a possible additional 5% in cases such as widespread wildfires.
- Launch of the new emissions trading system for heating and transport fuels was pushed back one year to 2028.
- A biennial review will assess whether the target undermines the bloc’s economic competitiveness.
- Only the 2040 goal has legal force, while a 2035 reduction range of roughly 66.25% to 72.5% is indicative; scientists urged deeper domestic cuts and NGOs condemned the credit option as a loophole.