02-07-2025
EU proposes a 90% cut in greenhouse gases by 2040
The European Commission has proposed a target of a 90% reduction in net greenhouse gases compared to 1990 levels by 2040.
The target builds on the 2030 goals of a 55% reduction in carbon emissions, which the commission said the EU is "well on track" to meet.
However, environmental organisations have criticised the new target because it assumes greater progress in carbon capture and storage, and introduces new flexibilities which would mean up to 3% of the target would be met by paying countries outside the EU - through so-called international carbon credits - to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
The European Commission said the new goal, and the methodology involved, will provide certainty for investors, boost the EU's competitiveness and increase its energy security.
Under the EU Climate Law, the commission is required to update the carbon emissions target from 2030 to 2040 in order to meet the overall goal of net emissions neutrality by 2050.
However, the existing drive towards net zero has been eroded in recent years by a political backlash, particularly where right-wing and far right parties have gained ground.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has been accused of watering down key pieces of legislation, such as the European Green Deal.
Last week, the commission withdrew legislation banning so-called greenwashing - the practice of companies asserting spurious or unfounded environmental credentials.
However, it insists the new target reflects growing public alarm at the effects of global warming.
The 2025 Climate Eurobarometer, released on Monday, showed that 85% of EU citizens consider climate change a serious problem, with 81% supporting the net neutrality target for 2050.
In a statement, Ms von der Leyen said: "As European citizens increasingly feel the impact of climate change, they expect Europe to act.
"Industry and investors look to us to set a predictable direction of travel.
"Today we show that we stand firmly by our commitment to decarbonise the European economy by 2050."
The EU chief added the "goal is clear" and the "journey is pragmatic and realistic".
Under the proposal, there will be a "limited role" for "high quality" international carbon credits in the second half of the 2030s in order to meet the 90% reduction target by the end of the decade.
The amendment will also allow for the permanent removal of carbon within the EU's Emissions Trading System to be taken into account.
The commission said these flexibilities will be done in "a cost-effective way and ensure a just and socially fair transition for all".
The new target, it said, goes hand in hand with the Clean Industrial Deal - which updates the Green Deal - as well as the so-called Competitive Compass and the Affordable Energy Action Plan.
Greenpeace has criticised the plan on the basis that it falls short of the European Scientific Advisory Board's own recommendation of a target reduction of 90% - 95%.
It also said the decarbonisation involved in the plan should be measured only on the basis of internal EU efforts, rather than relying on carbon reduction done by countries outside the EU.
The organisation's EU climate campaigner said the bloc's 2040 climate targets "should drive a shift away from fossil fuels, starting with an EU ban on new fossil fuel projects, towards renewables and energy saving to cut people's energy bills, make their homes easier to heat and cool, and clean the air they breathe".
But Thomas Gelin said that instead the commission "relies on dodgy accounting and offshore carbon laundering to pretend to hit the lower bound of what its climate scientists advise".
"The EU, as a historical polluter, has the responsibility to cut its own pollution and ironically will make the necessary changes harder for European households and businesses by delaying even further," he added.
Ireland's 2030 emissions reduction target is 42%.
According to a recent projection by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), however, the State will only manage to cut emissions relative to 1990 levels by 23% - even if every climate policy planned by the Government is implemented on time.
That is actually down from a 29% prediction last year, meaning Ireland's progress towards the legally binding EU target is going backwards.
The EPA said the deterioration is due to significantly slower progress on many fronts, including onshore wind, offshore wind, electric vehicles, district heating and the use of biomethane.
