EU negotiators reach deal on landmark climate law

EU negotiators have reached a deal on the bloc's landmark climate law, cementing its goal for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century alongside a more ambitious emissions cut for 2030.

The European Parliament and EU member states, who come together as the European Council, came to a provisional agreement on April 21 to enshrine the target into law — just over a year after it was proposed by the European Commission, the bloc's executive.

The legally binding net-zero goal and a higher target to cut net emissions by at least 55% by 2030, from a 1990 baseline, will kick off a process to revise dozens of EU regulations and directives over the remainder of the year, touching everything from renewable energy, transport and the EU's Emissions Trading System to rules on biodiversity, plastics and pesticides.

"It's a systemic change," Pascal Canfin, who chairs the parliament's environmental committee and was one of its negotiators on the deal, said during a press conference. "This climate law is a game changer. There is before the climate law and after the climate law."

The interim emissions target for 2030 was a particularly contentious topic in the negotiations, with the parliament originally pushing for a 60% cut; the EU's previous target for 2030 was a 40% reduction. Canfin and Jytte Guteland, the parliament's other lead negotiator, said they secured a compromise that will see the de facto reduction rise to almost 57%, by revising land use and forestry regulation to raise EU carbon sinks to levels above 300 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2030.

The parliament negotiators also emphasized that emissions reductions will need to make up the bulk of the cuts, up to a level of 52.8%, under the agreement. The contribution of carbon removals from the atmosphere to the target, to compensate for sectors where decarbonization is particularly challenging, will thus be limited to 225 MtCO2e.

'A strong signal'

The EU had been among the first major economies to announce an economywide net-zero target, although some countries, such as former EU member the U.K., have already signed similar goals into law. Under the new deal, the EU will try to achieve negative emissions after 2050.

According to the parliament, the commission will make a proposal for a 2040 emissions reduction target by 2024, which will take into account a projected greenhouse gas budget, calculated to make sure the EU fulfils its commitment under the Paris Agreement on climate change between 2030 and 2050.

The EU will also set up an independent advisory board of 15 scientists to monitor progress and make sure new policies are consistent with the climate objectives. Canfin said the deal also includes a "transformational" provision that will require the commission to align each new legislative proposal with the targets, or lay out in detail why it cannot do so.

The full parliament still has to vote on the agreement, but Canfin said the deal has a "very clear majority" of support.

The agreement means the EU is not going empty-handed to an upcoming climate summit convened by U.S. President Joe Biden — a symbolic win for the bloc, which likes to point out its leading role on climate policy. The summit will see the U.S. unveil its own souped-up emissions target for 2030 and has already been preceded by an increased interim target from the U.K.

"The European climate law is 'the law of laws' that sets the frame for the EU's climate-related legislation for the 30 years to come," said João Pedro Matos Fernandes, minister of environment and climate action in Portugal, which is holding the rotating council presidency. "With this agreement we send a strong signal to the world."

However, some were left underwhelmed by the agreement. Climate Action Network Europe, an environmental group, said in a statement that the deal "failed to deliver on what could have been an ambitious climate governance framework" by aiming too short on 2030 reductions and not making the targets binding for each member state individually. That means some countries will be allowed to reach the objective later if others manage to decarbonize ahead of time.

"European decision makers missed a historic opportunity to adequately address the climate crisis," said Wendel Trio, the group's director. "This climate law is nothing more than a new package for what already exists, rushed by EU lawmakers to bring something to the leaders summit organized by the U.S."