On the evening of Wednesday 7 October, the European Parliament formally approved the amended ‘climate law’ report by Jytte Guteland (S&D, Sweden) by a comfortable majority (392 votes to 161, with 142 abstentions).
This vote means in particular that MEPs have confirmed their position, as expressed during the votes on the amendments (see EUROPE 12576/1), in favour of a European target to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 60% by 2030 compared to the level of emissions in 1990 (the current 2030 target is a reduction of at least 40%).
The Social Democrat (S&D), Greens/EFA and GUE/NGL groups, along with large numbers of Renew Europe MEPs and around 40 members of the EPP group, supported the report.
As was announced following the votes on the amendments (see EUROPE 12576/1), most members of the EPP group abstained.
Almost all members of the ECR and ID groups voted against the report, confirming the opposition they had expressed on Tuesday.
The climate law, which was presented by the European Commission on 4 March, consists of a proposal for a European regulation to enshrine the target of climate neutrality by 2050 in European Union legislation, while at the same time establishing intermediate targets (see EUROPE 12439/2).
MEPs made significant changes to the law via the series of amendments adopted on Tuesday and Wednesday. The amendments will be negotiated with the Member States once an agreement has been reached in the Council of the EU.
Reactions
Reactions to Parliament's vote amongst stakeholders were mixed.
Environmental NGOs such as Greenpeace and CAN Europe (Climate Action Network Europe) welcomed it.
They consider the 60% reduction target as a step in the right direction, and also welcomed the adoption of other proposals, such as the extension of the 2050 climate neutrality target to every Member State, the creation of a ‘European Council on Climate Change’ and the introduction of a GHG budget.
Nevertheless, they believe that, in light of the scientific data, the EU should aim for a 65% reduction in its emissions by 2030 in order to meet its commitments under the Paris Agreement.
With the 27 Heads of State or Government due to discuss the 2030 climate target at next week's European Council meeting (see EUROPE 12575/20), Wendel Trio, the Director of CAN Europe, called on them to “see the Parliament’s climate target proposal as a baseline that should be improved”.
Eurochambers, an organisation that represents European chambers of commerce and industry, questions the level of Parliament's ambition.
The organisation’s president, Christoph Leitl said that “ambition is laudable, but to deliver on our shared aims, the EU needs an approach that is based on realistic targets”, and went on to call for a “clear plan with tangible and measurable actions” to combine economic growth and climate protection.
The result of the roll-call vote can be found at: https://bit.ly/30KjjUe (page 153) (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)