On Friday 19 December, the permanent representatives of the Member States to the EU endorsed the interinstitutional agreement on the Climate Law’s revision, setting an interim target of an 85% reduction in domestic greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 (compared with 1990) (see EUROPE 13770/1).
As with the agreement reached by European environment ministers on 5 November (see EUROPE 13751/3), Belgium and Bulgaria abstained. Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic rejected the final agreement.
The EU Council and European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on 10 December, largely incorporating the EU Council’s position (see EUROPE 13746/1). Under the new provisions, the EU can offset its greenhouse gas emissions by financing decarbonisation projects abroad using international carbon credits. These can be added to the 5% reduction by 2040 target.
The final agreement also includes a series of flexibilities, a revision clause for the regulation and a one-year postponement of ETS2, extending the emissions trading system to the buildings and road transport sectors until 2028.
The provisional agreement still needs to be approved by the EU Council at ministerial level in early 2026. It will also need to receive the final go-ahead from European Parliament, in committee, potentially on 19 January, and then in plenary session in February or March.
To see the final text: https://aeur.eu/f/k44 (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)