The European Commission officially proposed a 90% carbon emission reduction target by 2040 in the Climate Law amendment on Wednesday as a pathway to achieving zero emissions by 2050.
The 90% emission reduction target allowed the controversial use of international carbon credits to be explained towards the goal. This is a mechanism by which countries and businesses can purchase emission reduction credits from projects outside the EU.
While these credits can theoretically represent true climate behavior, critics argue that they often serve as licences to contaminate, allowing wealthy countries to avoid domestic changes.
The committee has opened the door to outsourcing some of Europe’s climate efforts by effectively allowing the capture or removal of carbon across the EU borders.
“We’re expanding our solution space,” said Climate Commissioner Wokke Hawkstra. “Some of the work that is part of the emission reduction can be done outside the European Union.”
The Dutch commissioner noted that much of the reduction, including carbon capture, still takes place within Europe.
Concerns and restrictions
The original climate law provided that both 2030 and 2050 goals must be met through domestic efforts, but the committee suggests that a limited share of international credit can be counted towards the 2040 goal.
The committee’s own scientific advisory committee has previously expressed skepticism about the use of international offsets. Rather than oppose it completely, it should not be supplemented rather than domestic actions.
To address these concerns, the committee proposes limiting international credit to 3% of its 2040 target. This figure is rooted in Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. This is a clause shaped primarily by the EU and is consistent with Germany’s stance on this issue.
Senior Committee officials described CAP as a way to balance European investment priorities with global climate cooperation.
“We think it’s important not to ask for a very high percentage of these credits,” the official said. “This sends the right signals to both European actors and international partners. We accept that we use such credits, but only if they are well-performed and maintained high integrity.”
Additionally, these credits are only allowed during the second half of the next decade (2036-2040), giving time to build a more robust partnership and ensure the availability of high-quality credits.
Commission officials also specified that international credits must be consistent with the Paris Agreement, demonstrating the effectiveness of the environment and supported by a rigorous monitoring, reporting and verification system, similar to the EU’s own emissions trading scheme.
Increased domestic flexibility
Beyond the offset, this amendment introduces more sectoral and domestic flexibility and helps to achieve its 2040 goals cost-effective and socially legitimate.
This will incorporate permanent carbon removal into the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) and allow for cross-sectional compensation.
For example, if a country exceeds emission reductions in the transport or waste sector, its excessive performance can be used to compensate for poor performance in the land use sector.
Such flexibility already exists under the current FIT of the 55 framework, but new approaches are trying to expand on them.
Vice President Teresa Rivera explained that he has been performing overall overall, particularly in the sectors such as housing and transportation, but often hears things that others, like aviation, struggle.
“If we don’t lower the bars, shouldn’t we allow them to be over-learning in some areas, while being more flexible in other areas?”
According to Rivera, these changes reflect a practical evolution of the EU climate strategy, aiming to maintain ambitions while taking into account diverse national circumstances.
