By 2030, the EU aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 per cent compared to 1990, and to become climate-neutral by 2050.

Brussels – The EU Commission wants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union by 90 per cent compared to 1990 by the year 2040. This is the proposal presented on Wednesday in Brussels by EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra and Commission Vice-President Teresa Ribera. From 2036 onwards, up to three per cent of 1990 emissions will be able to be offset through international emissions trading. Additional flexibility has also been promised.

The targets for before and after are already set: by 2030 the EU aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 per cent compared to 1990, and to become climate-neutral by 2050. The new target, which the Commission was obliged to present and over whose content or possible postponement EU member states and the Commission had been negotiating until the very end, would neither increase nor reduce the efforts needed to meet existing targets, it was stated at a briefing on Wednesday: "We're staying on track!" All current national climate plans combined would currently put the EU-27 on course for a 54 per cent reduction by 2030 — just below the 55 per cent target. Austria is already aiming for climate neutrality by 2040.

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