EU Parliament Panel Set to Back 2040 Emissions-Cut Target of 90%

9zc1m6jechk8c0snn2gk5b4v_media_dl_1.png EU, Bloomberg

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(Bloomberg) — A European Union parliamentary committee is set to recommend the bloc takes on a new emissions-reduction goal, a key step on the path to net zero by midcentury.

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The environment committee on Monday is likely to back a 90% cut in emissions by 2040 from 1990 levels. Member states already gave their approval last week, but only after some elements of the draft climate law were watered down to ease the costs to industry.

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The EU is pushing ahead with its ambitious energy shift even as some other major economies, such as the US, retreat. Yet the broad consensus on climate action that prevailed five years ago has fractured, giving way to trade protectionism and policies that prioritize economic growth and competitiveness.

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When the committee votes in Brussels on Monday, it will likely recommend allowing countries to use international carbon credits to offset a greater share of their emissions. The amendments to the draft law have been sponsored by four political groups, which have a majority in the EU assembly.

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The European People’s Party, in an alliance with the Socialists & Democrats, Renew and Greens, also want a one-year delay to a new carbon market for buildings and transportation, as well as a slower phaseout of free emissions permits granted to companies.

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Member states agreed to those concessions last week in an attempt to avoid spikes in energy costs that politicians fear could trigger a public backlash.

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Once the committee has cast its ballot, the law will go to a vote by the whole parliament at a plenary session later this month. A group of EPP lawmakers already plans to propose an even longer a delay to the new Emissions Trading System for heating and transportation fuels, known as ETS2. EPP Vice Chairman Andrzej Halicki has said it should be postponed by at least three years to 2030. 

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The plenary vote will determine the parliament’s stance for negotiations with the European Commission and the EU council that represents member states on the final shape of the 2040 climate law.

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The EU already has two binding emissions targets: a 55% cut by 2030 and net zero by 2050. 

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A key element of the talks will be a call on the European Commission to slow the pace of pollution cuts in the EU’s existing carbon market, which covers utilities and manufacturers. The parliament wants the EU executive to propose lowering the Linear Reduction Factor, or the pace at which the emissions cap shrinks every year.

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