Although this point was not formally on the agenda of the European Council meeting of Thursday 26 June, European leaders discussed the 2040 climate target at length.
This discussion was initiated by France at a time when the European Commission is due to present, on 2 July, its legislative proposal framing this target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 (see EUROPE 13667/7).
With just a few months to go before COP30 in Belém in November, the stakes are high, as the EU has to announce its emissions reduction target for 2035.
While the Commission’s intention is to present a target derived from the EU’s proposal for 2040, probably maintaining a 90% reduction, some Member States are questioning the principle of a so-called “linear” trajectory between the target of 55% in 2030 and that of 2040, before achieving carbon neutrality in 2050.
This is particularly true of countries such as Poland and France, which would even like to decouple the EU’s 2040 target from the 2035 target expected at COP30.
“It’s great if we get it for Belém, but that’s not what’s expected (...). If it’s going to take longer, let’s take longer to do it right”, said French President Emmanuel Macron at the end of the summit.
In his view, the climate trajectory must “be compatible with our competitiveness”, by focusing on technological neutrality.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever admitted to the press that the debate had been “lively”.
“It’s more a debate between two schools of thought. One says that everything’s fine and that we’re continuing along this path, while the other calls for greater flexibility, believing that it will be technology that delivers us from the problem. However, technology can take time to arrive”.
According to Mr De Wever, it is difficult to know what conclusions the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will draw from these discussions before 2 July, except to say that “the situation is not clear to everyone and some are even strongly against it”. In his view, however, there is nothing to prevent Belgium from supporting the forthcoming proposal.
Countries such as Spain, Sweden and Denmark, which takes over the EU Council Presidency on 1 July, strongly support the 90% target. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys with the editorial staff)