EU Climate Law towards an ambitious 90% cutting of greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.
- M Abti
- Jul 25
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 6
In the current month of July 2025, the European Commission goes further in defining the European Union's climate policies. The Executive Body has recently proposed an amendment to the European Climate Law, entered into force in July 2021, aspiring to make European economy and society climate-neutral by 2050. The 2040 EU Climate Target is addressed to achieve a 90% net cutting of greenhouse (GHG) emissions, compared to 1990 levels, with the aim to provide a more solid basis for investors, innovators, entrepreneurs, industrial and business leaders, while strengthening European energy security. That would be also the foundation for defining the 2035 mid-term goal, as the United Nations is requiring to all signatories to the Paris Agreement to submit their emission reduction plans strictly by September, under penalty of failure to achieve the global leadership in the field.
The initiative, presented on the 2nd July 2025, has binding value but it provides more flexible tools for achieving the target which may appear difficult to apply in some ways. The result is in fact far from obvious, despite about 101 countries have committed to achieving carbon neutrality within a given year (source: Climate Watch). In fact, since the Kyoto Protocol, the first legally binding international agreement on climate matters, CO2 emissions have grown by 55% worldwide. The trend has improved in recent decades but always has a positive sign: +7%. Thus, carbon neutrality currently is not supported by adequate tools and sufficiently concrete actions.
The European Commission proposal is in line with the EU Competitiveness Compass, a new roadmap launched in January 2025 to foster the economic growth, the Clean Industrial Deal, to encourage decarbonisation as well as the put in force of a low-carbon economy, and the Affordable Action Plan, a set of concrete short-term and structural measures will provide competitiveness, affordability, security and sustainability for citizens and businesses. The initiative, promoted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change, is subject to the EU in-depth impact assessment, a structured analysis conducted by the European Commission to evaluate the potential economic, social, and environmental consequences of proposed policies and legislation.
Relying on the EU's existing legally binding goal of reducing by at least 55% net GHG by 2030, the new measure, that is about to be submitted to the European Parliament and the Council for discussion and adoption under the ordinary legislative procedure, is designed to facilitate carbon capture technology, make emissions trading in different sectors easier and fairer as well as boosting a more competitive European industry.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, pointed out: « As European citizens increasingly feel the impact of Climate Change, they expect Europe to act. Industry and investors look to us to set a predictable direction of travel. Today we show that we stand firmly by our commitment to decarbonise European economy by 2050. The goal is clear, the journey is pragmatic and realistic ».
According to a recent survey carried out by the European Commission, published in June 2025, 85% of Europeans believe climate change is a serious problem, 83% of respondents believe that a better preparation on climate impacts would improve daily life, while 81% support the European Union goal of reaching climate neutrality by 2050.
Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, highlighted: « Agreeing on the 90% climate target provides us with a clear lighthouse to guide our future actions. We are responding to Europeans who remain strongly in favour of climate action. (...) We are not choosing between the economy and the green agenda, we are choosing both. Europe reaffirms its commitment to a fair, ambitious, and competitive green transition ».
Not by chance, decarbonisation and business competitiveness are the pillars of a recent Communication following up the Clean Industrial Deal, a strategic action plan to make the ecological transition an opportunity for growth through innovation and technology.
Wopke Hoekstra, Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth, stated in this regard: «...(The Clean Industrial Deal) gives industry and Member States a clear direction and supports their investment plans, while ensuring that Europe stays firmly on track to reach climate neutrality by 2050. It will be good for EU citizens, businesses and our global competitiveness. It’s also an important tool in the EU’s international diplomacy work to cut emissions and develop carbon markets under the Paris Agreement ».
The future of European climate policies therefore depends on what will happen in the coming weeks. A choice which, in one case or another, will have significant repercussions on the social and economic structure of EU Member States***
✒️ Maurice Abbati
Journalist; Editor; Communication, Media and Public Relations Specialist
Lecturer and Author in English language of Technical Articles and the Manual: "Communicating the Environment to Save the Planet, a Journey into Eco-Communication" by Springer International Publishing.
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