The European Commission on Wednesday proposed that the EU reduce its net greenhouse gas emissions 90% by 2040, compared with 1990 levels, but included flexibilities to soften the emissions cuts for domestic industries. The proposal said the European Union can buy carbon credits from developing countries and count these credits to meet 3 percentage points of the 2040 goal. This is a new approach - the EU's existing climate targets are based solely on domestic emissions cuts.
The proposal must be negotiated and approved by the European Parliament and a reinforced majority of EU countries.
(Reuters, July 2, 2025)
