EU drafts deal to upgrade 2030 climate change target next month

(Reuters, 25 Nov 2020) If the draft conclusions are approved, the EU could be the first major economy to beat the deadline to submit a new climate pledge under the Paris agreement.

The European Union has drafted a deal to curb greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030, against 1990 levels, a target it hopes its 27 members will endorse at a summit next month, the document showed.

If the Dec 10-11 EU leaders' meeting approves the draft conclusions seen by Reuters, it could make the EU the first major economy to submit a new climate pledge under the 2015 U.N. Paris climate agreement, before a year-end deadline to do so.

The current 2030 target for EU members, who together make up the European Council, is a 40% cut in emissions from 1990 levels, already higher than the amount pledged by other big emitters such as China and the United States.

"The European Council endorses a binding EU target of a net reduction of at least 55% in domestic greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 1990," the draft said.

The bloc's executive, the European Commission, proposed the target in September, saying anything less would fail to put the EU on track to reach net zero emissions by 2050 - a target it has already signed up to.

External link

Reuters, 25 Nov 2020: EU drafts deal to upgrade 2030 climate change target next month