The European Parliament and EU
member states have agreed a target to cut carbon emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030, the EU Commission said in a statement released early Wednesday.
The agreement comes after intense negotiations between parliament, who wanted at least 60 percent reduction, and leaders of the
member states, who agreed 55 percent in November.
The EU target will be formally incorporated into a climate law , and comes after months of deadlocked talks that resumed early Tuesday afternoon and continued until after 3am. The European Climate Law enshrines the EU s commitment to reaching climate neutrality by 2050 and the intermediate target of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels, read the statement.
This is a good day for people and the planet, he added.
Brussels unveiled its European Green Deal in December 2019 and tabled its proposal for a European Climate Law in March 2020. It aims for the bloc to become the world s first carbon-neutral continent by 2050 by unlocking billions of euros to help industries become more resource-efficient.
But EU Leaders and parliament had been at logger-head for months over the emissions reduction target with lawmakers pushing for a cut of at least 60 per cent the 27-member bloc had previously committed to reducing its emissions by 30 percent by 2030.
The deal struck on Wednesday also includes a process for setting a 2040 climate target.
EU reaches major climate deal ahead of Joe Biden summit The EU will commit itself to an intermediate target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared with 1990 levels 21 April, 2021 10:15
The European Union has reached a tentative climate deal intended to make the 27-nation bloc climate-neutral by 2050, with member states and parliament agreeing on new carbon emissions targets on the eve of a virtual summit hosted by US President Joe Biden.
“Our political commitment to becoming the first climate-neutral continent by 2050 is now also a legal commitment. The climate law sets the EU on a green path for a generation,” European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said early Wednesday.
EnvironmentEurope clinches deal on wide-ranging climate law to speed emissions cuts
Kate Abnett
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Smoke and steam billows from Belchatow Power Station, Europe s largest coal-fired power plant operated by PGE Group, near Belchatow, Poland November 28, 2018. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel
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The European Union clinched a deal in the early hours of Wednesday on a landmark climate change law that puts new, tougher greenhouse gas emissions targets at the heart of all EU policymaking.
The deal arrives just in time for a summit of world leaders hosted by the U.S. government on Thursday and Friday, where the EU and other global powers will promote their pledges to protect the planet.
EU reaches major climate deal ahead of Biden climate summit
Under the provisional deal, the EU will commit itself to an intermediate target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. Author: RAF CASERT Associated Press Published: 4:43 AM EDT April 21, 2021 Updated: 4:43 AM EDT April 21, 2021
BRUSSELS, Belgium The European Union reached a tentative climate deal that is intended to make the 27-nation bloc climate-neutral by 2050, with member states and parliament agreeing on new carbon emissions targets on the eve of a virtual summit hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden.
“Our political commitment to becoming the first climate-neutral continent by 2050 is now also a legal commitment. The climate law sets the EU on a green path for a generation,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said early Wednesday.