Climate change: EU to cut CO2 emissions by 55% by 2030
The EU has adopted ambitious new targets to curb climate change, with a pledge to make them legally binding.
Under a new law agreed between member states and the EU Parliament, the bloc will cut carbon emissions by at least 55% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels.
The EU parliament had pushed for a higher target of a 60% reduction.
“Our political commitment to becoming the first climate neutral continent by 2050 is now also a legal one,” said EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen.
“The Climate Law sets the EU on a green path for a generation.”
The deal comes ahead of a virtual summit of world leaders later this week, where the US is expected to announce its own climate targets for 2030.
The new climate law was agreed in the early hours of Wednesday after months of talks.
EU Commission Vice-President Frans Timmerman described the agreement as “a landmark moment for the EU and a strong signal to the world”.
The target to reduce emissions by 55% by 2030 was initially announced by EU leaders in December but there had been pressure from the EU Parliament and environmental groups for the law to go even further.
Previous EU targets had called for a 40% cut.
In September the EU Commission set out its blueprint for reaching the 55% target by 2030, and said at least 30% of the EU’s €1.8tn (£1.64tn; $2.2tn) long-term budget would be spent on climate-related measures.
The targets are part of a global effort to tackle climate change by cutting atmospheric pollution, especially carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
The Paris climate deal, signed in 2016, aims to keep global temperature rise well under 2C, and preferably within a maximum rise of 1.5C, to prevent the worst effects of climate change.
Agencies