At the time of going to press, negotiators from the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union had not yet reached an agreement on the ‘Climate Law’ as they continued with the sixth round of interinstitutional negotiations (‘trilogues’) that started at around 3pm on Tuesday afternoon.
Many had expected the trilogue to last this long for two main reasons.
The first is the fact that several significant points in the text – which aims to make the EU’s climate targets binding – had still not been agreed by co-legislators, even after five trilogues had taken place (see EUROPE 12700/6).
Discussions have particularly stalled over the issue of the EU’s new climate target for 2030 (see EUROPE 12699/9).
While the EU Council is advocating a net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of at least 55% compared to 1990 levels (including taking into account carbon sinks), the European Parliament wants to achieve a ‘gross’ reduction of 60%. A compromise proposal that has been put forward by the EU Council would be to maintain the 55% net target, but to set a cap on the extent to which carbon sinks can contribute to this.
The second reason for the extended session is timing. Negotiators, in particular the European Commission and Member States, want to finalise the dossier before the international climate summit, hosted by US President Joe Biden, takes place on Thursday 22 and Friday 23 April.
The EU will then be able to announce its bigger climate ambition for 2030 on the international stage, which they hope will encourage non-Member States to follow its example. (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)