BRUSSELS, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- European Union (EU) negotiators agreed late on Tuesday to a binding 2040 climate target to cut net greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent compared to 1990 levels, a European Parliament press release said.
Lawmakers from the European Parliament and EU member states reached a provisional political deal to amend the EU Climate Law and set a new intermediate target between the bloc's existing 2030 and 2050 climate goals, according to the statement.
Under the deal, member states will have more flexibility in how they meet the 2040 objective. From 2036, up to five percentage points of the overall emissions reduction may be achieved using high-quality international carbon credits that comply with the Paris Agreement.
The deal also allows domestic permanent carbon removals to be used to offset hard-to-abate emissions in the EU emissions trading system (ETS) to achieve targets as cost-effectively as possible.
The introduction of the EU's new emissions trading system for fuels in buildings, road transport and additional sectors, known as ETS2, will be postponed by one year from 2027 to 2028 under the agreement.
The European Commission will review progress towards the 2040 goal every two years, assessing the latest scientific evidence, technological developments and impacts on the EU's global competitiveness, the parliament said. Depending on its findings, the Commission could propose changes to the Climate Law, including revising the 2040 target or adding further measures to strengthen the policy framework.
The provisional agreement must still be formally approved by both the European Parliament and the Council of the EU. It will enter into force 20 days after publication in the EU's Official Journal.
The existing European Climate Law makes climate neutrality by 2050 a legal obligation for all member states and sets a binding target to cut net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030 compared with 1990 levels. ■
