After 14 hours of discussions, negotiators from the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union finally reached an interim agreement on the ‘Climate Law’ to make the EU’s climate targets legally binding, on Wednesday 21 April, at around 5 am, at the end of the sixth session of interinstitutional negotiations (‘trilogues’).
“Our political commitment to becoming the first climate-neutral continent by 2050 is also now a legal commitment”, said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The Commission’s executive vice-president in charge of the European Green Deal, Frans Timmermans, called the agreement “a landmark moment for the EU”, which “will guide our policies for the next 30 years” and “also reinforces our global position as a leader in tackling the climate crisis”.
Recalling that this was one of the priority issues of the Portuguese Presidency of the EU Council, the Portuguese Minister for the Environment and Climate Action, João Pedro Matos Fernandes, said that this agreement sends “a strong signal to the world” just before the international climate summit on 22 and 23 April organised by US President Joe Biden.
2030 Target
The EU’s new greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction target for 2030, a central element of the ‘Climate Law’, apparently remained the main point of contention between the co-legislators throughout the negotiations (see EUROPE 12699/9).
The Parliament, which wanted a ‘gross’ emissions reduction of 60% compared to 1990 levels, finally aligned itself with the EU Council’s position of a net emissions reduction (i.e. taking into account removals by carbon sinks) of at least 55%.
War of numbers
“This is a failure”, said German MEP Michael Bloss, negotiator for the Greens/EFA. According to him, Parliament has completely capitulated by accepting an emission reduction target of only 52.8% by 2030.
Mr Bloss refers to the Commission’s impact assessment, which states that a 55% ‘net’ target would result in a 52.8% reduction in emissions from the emitting sectors (energy, industry, transport, buildings, agriculture), with the remaining 2.2% (or 225 million tonnes of CO2) being considered as ‘removed’ from the atmosphere by forests and other natural carbon sinks (see EUROPE 12562/1).
This reaction contrasts with those of his colleagues Jytte Guteland (S&D, Sweden), Parliament’s rapporteur on the ‘Climate Law’, and Pascal Canfin (Renew Europe, France), chair of Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI).
Calling the interim agreement a “historical moment” and a “game changer” respectively, they stressed that the agreement raises the climate ambition for 2030 to a net emission reduction of almost 57%.
When asked about this difference in the figures provided, Mr Canfin explained that it was totally impossible to obtain a change in the percentage of 55% defended by the EU Council, as the Portuguese Presidency’s mandate on this point, arising from an agreement of the 27 Heads of State or Government of the Member States, was very strict (see EUROPE 12621/1).
Therefore, “we had (...) to work on the calculation of the ‘net’ in order to be able to move de facto from 55% to almost 57%”.
What does the text say?
According to information from the EU institutions, the text of the interim agreement (not yet available) indicates that the 2030 target is a net reduction in emissions of at least 55%, while specifying that the contribution of carbon removals should be limited the equivalent of 225 million tonnes of CO2.
The aim of the ceiling is to prevent Member States from focusing too much on CO2 removals, which are subject to much criticism, and to focus primarily on achieving sufficient emission reductions by 2030.
In addition, the Commission has committed to proposing that the Land Use, Land Use Change, and Forestry (LULUCF) regulation (2018/841) be revised to increase the EU’s carbon sinks to levels above 300 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2030 (the revision of the regulation is scheduled for June), the Parliament said in a statement.
It added: “this would correspond de facto to a (net) reduction target of 57% in 2030”.
According to our information, the Commission will issue a written statement on this subject at the same time as the publication of the ‘Climate Law’ in the Official Journal of the EU.
“This is just a reflection from the European Commission, which has no legal value”, said Bloss, pointing out that no Member State had committed to increasing its sinks. He also added that: “In the ‘Climate Law’, there is only the 55%.
2040 and 2050 Targets
On the 2050 climate neutrality target, the Parliament’s proposal to apply this target to each Member State individually (and not just to the EU as a whole) was rejected.
In contrast, the interim agreement states that the EU will have to work towards achieving negative emissions after 2050.
It also stipulates that the Commission will propose a climate target for 2040 no later than six months after the first global review of the Paris Agreement (i.e. by mid-2024).
GHG Budget
When presenting its proposal for a 2040 target, the Commission will also have to take into account and publish the EU’s projected GHG budget for the 2030-2050 period, defined as the total indicative net greenhouse gas emissions (expressed in equivalent CO2 and providing separate information on emissions and removals) that are expected to be emitted during this period without jeopardising the Union’s commitments under the Paris Agreement.
There will therefore be no GHG budget for the pre-2030 period.
Scientific Board
The co-legislators also agreed on the creation of a European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change, which will, among other things, provide scientific advice and publish reports on the EU’s climate measures, targets, and GHG budgets and their consistency with the ‘Climate Law’ and the Paris Agreement.
This advisory body will be composed of 15 scientific experts of different nationalities (a maximum of two members may be nationals of the same Member State), appointed for a term of four years, renewable once. Its secretariat will be provided by the European Environment Agency (EEA).
Sectoral roadmaps
Negotiators also agreed that the Commission will “engage” with those sectors of the economy that choose, on a voluntary basis, to prepare indicative roadmaps towards achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
Other items
In addition, the agreement stipulates that the Commission will have to assess the consistency of any draft measure or legislative proposal, including budgetary proposals, with the climate neutrality objective and the 2030 and 2040 targets before their adoption. In case of inconsistency, the Commission will be required to provide reasons.
It should also be noted that two other major proposals from Parliament, namely strengthening access to climate justice and phasing out all direct and indirect fossil fuel subsidies by 2025, were not retained.
Next steps
The interim agreement will now be submitted to the EU Council and Parliament for final approval. It is expected to be validated by the Member States’ ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) in two or three weeks, said João Pedro Matos Fernandes.
On the Parliament’s side, Canfin has already said he expects a green light from MEPs.
While the vast majority of EPP, S&D and Renew Europe MEPs are likely to vote in favour of the agreement, the ID group and The Left are expected to oppose it. At press time, the position of the Greens/EFA and the ECR group was still undecided. (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)