On Tuesday 17 December, the European Climate and Environment Ministers held their third exchange of views on the proposed 2040 climate target (see EUROPE 13433/6), unanimously calling for its rapid adoption in early 2025.
With the European Union due to present its ‘Nationally Determined Contribution’ (NDC) by February, several Member States have stressed the importance of presenting a 2040 target as soon as possible to guide the NDC proposal.
The European Commissioner for Climate Action, Wopke Hoekstra, believes that it is not only a question of the EU meeting its obligations, but also of its credibility on the international stage, ahead of the next COP in Belém (Brazil) in November 2025.
In addition, several Member States, such as Sweden and the Netherlands, have insisted that incorporating the 2040 target into the Climate Law “will provide predictability for our businesses”, which is necessary to ensure the EU’s competitiveness.
90% reduction in emissions. Countries such as Denmark, Luxembourg, Finland, Spain and Estonia have explicitly expressed their support for the target of a 90% reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990 levels.
Finland was pleased to see increased support for this objective, also supporting legislation adapted beyond 2040, which promotes competitiveness based on a well-functioning internal market and the use of European funds.
Belgium has called for absorptions (notably carbon sequestration by forest or agricultural ecosystems) not to be relied upon to calculate emissions reductions within the 2040 target, but has acknowledged that they will have “a role to play post-2030” and that adjustments will be necessary in this respect.
In the same vein, the Netherlands called for well-designed mechanisms for carbon absorption, but which “must not be put in place at the expense of reducing emissions”.
Implementation of existing climate policies. More broadly, the Ministers called for the ‘Fit for 55’ package to be fully implemented, with some, like France, asking that the texts not be reopened, but that “flexibilities and adjustments” be authorised, because “what we had prepared for is not the reality”.
Ireland has explicitly opposed this, arguing that flexibility would not be conducive to stability and predictability for businesses and would be detrimental to investment.
The vast majority of Ministers also stressed, once again, the need to reduce administrative burdens for small and medium-sized enterprises. Against a backdrop of volatile energy prices, they also called for a fair transition for citizens.
EU Emissions Trading System. On the implementation of ETS 2, several delegations called for adjustments, such as Slovakia, which called for greater “simplification”, and Denmark, which felt it was important to extend the system “to as many sectors as possible”.
New renewable energy target. France took advantage of this debate to raise once again the European Commission’s intention to propose a new renewable energy target for 2040, as mentioned in the latest version of the mission statement of the new European Commissioner for Energy, Dan Jørgensen (see EUROPE 13546/8).
This issue was raised by the Ministers of the “Nuclear Alliance” at the Energy Council on Monday 16 December, who felt that it was “premature to agree on the principles and architecture of the post-2030 framework”, and hoped that the latter would not run counter to the principle of technological neutrality.
Automotive sector. During the debate, the Ministers also addressed a ‘miscellaneous’ point put forward by France concerning the need to avoid penalties that “weaken” car manufacturers, while maintaining the objectives of the regulation on CO2 standards for vehicles (see other news), reaffirming their support for the sector. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry and Pauline Denys)