EU cuts climate targets in last-ditch deal ahead of COP30 in Brazil | Climate Crisis News

The bloc has agreed to compromise to win over skeptical countries as climate issues take a back seat to trade and defence.

European Union climate ministers have reached a watered-down deal on emissions-cutting targets as they battle to win over member states before the United Nations. COP30 Summit In the Amazon.

Ministers approved a compromise early on Wednesday after marathon talks on how to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent by 2040 and introduce flexibility that would essentially offload some tasks to foreign countries.

Under the compromise, countries would be allowed to buy foreign carbon credits for up to 5 percent of their overall goal of reducing emissions by 90 percent from 1990 levels. In a further concession, the bloc agreed to consider the option of using international carbon credits to meet another 5 percent target.

“Setting climate targets is not just picking numbers. It is a political decision with far-reaching consequences for the continent,” Danish Climate Minister Lars Agaard said, adding that he and his colleagues had worked to provide “comfort” that would preserve “competitiveness, social balance and security”.

In a further attempt to win over skeptical members, EU countries agreed to an overall 2040 goal to be reassessed every two years. They also agreed to weaken other politically sensitive climate policies by delaying the launch of the upcoming EU carbon market from 2027 to 2028.

A handful of countries, including Poland, Slovakia and Hungary, opposed the 2040 climate target on the grounds that it would affect industrial competitiveness, but they could not block the deal, which requires the support of only 15 of the EU’s 27 member states.

Ahead of the COP30 climate summit in Brazil on Monday, the UN asked all governments around the world to submit a 2035 climate plan. The deal means European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will not go into the meeting empty-handed.

The talks will test the willingness of major economies to continue fighting climate change in the face of opposition from skeptics like United States President Donald Trump.

The European Union, in particular, has prided itself on leading international efforts to curb climate change at previous COPs, but recently climate concerns have overtaken protection and competitiveness.

Environmental groups accused the countries of undermining the bloc’s climate ambitions by finding loopholes.

Hundreds of environmental and human rights groups and activists wrote a letter in late September calling on COP30 to put justice and reparations for people unfairly affected by the climate crisis, colonialism and slavery at the heart of the talks.