After more than three months of delay, the redeeming word came: the emissions of greenhouse gases must have been reduced by 90 percent in 2040 compared to 1990. That is accompanied by the necessary flexibility, in order to keep countries on board where the green wind has weakened.
The greening agenda is under pressure by “the current economic, safety and geopolitical landscape,” the committee said. “It is important not to be dogmatic about how we achieve success,” said European Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra on Wednesday during the presentation of the new climate goal.
“We must be ambitious but pragmatic,” he continued. And so the way in which Member States must adhere to the agreement is relaxed. From 2036 they can go through international ‘carbon credits’ 3 percent of their CO2-Rreduction buying out in countries outside the EU.
In this international means of exchange, the European Commission sees ‘potential’ to strengthen the economic and sustainability relationship with the ‘global south’. Hoekstra: “And let’s be honest: the planet makes no distinction where emissions end up in the air.”
The carbon credits are controversial, go against the advice of the European Scientific Council and are susceptible to fraud.
We must be ambitious but pragmatic
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What exactly do the European Climate Act and the current European climate goals entail?
The European Climate Act, which came into force in July 2021, states that the EU should be climate neutral in 2050. This is a ‘net zero’ emissions: the total of the co2emissions minus that what is being compensated locally, for example by recording via trees or co2-Storage.
To achieve the decarbonization objective, interim objectives have been set. For example, greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced by at least 55 percent in 2030 compared to 1990. To achieve that, the EU adopted the ‘Fit for 55’ legislation package.
Under Commission von der Leyen-1, greening the economy was high on the agenda. PvdA members Frans Timmermans and Diederik Samsom were at the helm of the Brussels climate policy and were largely responsible for the ‘Green Deal’. But the current political trends show climate fatigue.
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The new credo is ‘more flexibility’. What are the big changes for 2040?
The European Commission states: “We remain on course by holding on to the emission reduction of 90 percent.” MEP Mohammed Cham (GroenLinks-PvdA): “We have fought for this for years. It is really an important step.”
But the EU comes to countries – which have difficulty achieving their climate goals, or who do not want to let them go at the expense of domestic industry – by relaxing rules. For example, emissions trading must be made more attractive under the so -called Emission Trading System (ETS) and there must be more flexibility between sectors. For example, a country can compensate emission problems in a specific sector (for example land use) through better performance in the field of emission reductions in another sector (for example transport or the waste sector).
The biggest change compared to the earlier climate vision: Member States may make investments outside the EU and have them weighed in their climate goal.
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What are Carbon Credits, and how does the EU want to apply?
A carbon credit, or carbon credit, is a tradable certificate (emission permit) that stands for the reduction or removal of greenhouse gases. This compensates for the own emissions elsewhere, in this case outside the EU. Rules were introduced in the Paris Climate Agreement last year. A carbon credit equals one ton of carbon dioxide Or the equivalent amount of another greenhouse gas that has been reduced or removed. There is no fixed price per unit.
The EU wants to introduce ‘high-quality’ international carbon credits from 2036, whereby countries can reduce up to 3 percent of their emissions abroad. According to Hoekstra, the credits must be ‘a verifiable, certifiable and additional safety net’ to achieve the climate goals. Purchase rules on the origin, quality criteria, timing and the use of the carbon credits must still be determined.
The Commission calculated that with the Carbon Credits around 150 million tonnes of Co.2 More can be emitted on its own continent (similar to the annual Dutch emissions). Critics state that this calculation is outdated: the actual amount of CO2 which can be bought off with carbon credits would amount to a maximum of 750 million tons.
With this we purchase our responsibility for climate action abroad for a lot of money
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Is CO2 emission reduction ‘buying off’ a sustainable future model abroad?
It is an “unnecessary and expensive goat path,” says MEP Chahim. “With this we buy our responsibility for climate action abroad for a lot of money. Instead of giving money to electrolyzers at steel factories in Morocco, we should ensure that Tata Steel in the Netherlands more sustainable.”
Carbon Credits are controversial due to the fraud sensitivity. The use also goes against the recommendations of the (independent) European scientific advisory board for climate change. He argued for a CO in early June2-Reduction from 90 to 95 percent on their own territory. “90 percent is an absolute lower limit,” says Detlef van Vuuren, professor of global environmental changes at Utrecht University. “For the climate, it simply applies that every Ton Co.2 which we emit, counts in the bathtub that continues to fill up … “
Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy, MEP for D66 and vice-president of the European liberals, regrets that “Europe, which has always been ambitious in the field of climate policy, now leaving the scientific path for the first time”. Gerbrandy also points out a reaction that he recently received from the African Union: “With a meaning of ‘that is beautiful, that will take away our cheap reductions and the more difficult reductions for us will remain’.
Chahim concludes with care: “The goat path may not become an elephant path. We must continue to focus the legislation in Europe on achieving 90 percent.”
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How is the EU doing now?
A recent analysis of the 2030 goal showed that Europe is ‘collectively on its way’ to achieve the upcoming 55 percent goal. But the resistance to climate policy is growing. Various Member States – including France, Poland and Hungary – rebel against a ‘strict Brussels approach’, afraid of economic damage in domestic industries.
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What are the next steps?
Both the European Council (the government leaders) and the European Parliament still have to agree with the Commission proposal. The expectation is that that will be a process of months. EU chairman Denmark hopes to hit heads with coins in September, if the climate objective for 2035 also needs to be determined, in the run-up to the climate summit at the end of this year in Brazil (COP30).