The European Commission is set to propose allowing carbon credits from other countries to count towards the EU’s 2040 climate target, according to a leaked internal document.
The European Commission plans to include carbon credits from abroad in the European Union’s 2040 climate target, a move aimed at easing the emissions cuts required from EU industries.
A draft summary of the upcoming proposal, seen by Reuters, shows the Commission intends to allow "high-quality international credits" from a U.N.-backed carbon market to cover up to 3 percent of the EU’s emissions cuts.
The credits would be phased in from 2036, with new EU legislation to later define sourcing rules, quality standards, and purchasing processes.
This adjustment would effectively reduce the domestic emission cuts European industries need to make to reach the EU’s planned 90 percent emissions reduction from 1990 levels by 2040.
Projects eligible for credits could include initiatives like forest restoration in countries such as Brazil. Supporters say this will help fund CO2 reduction efforts in developing nations. But recent controversies over the credibility of some carbon credit projects have raised concerns about their actual climate impact.
The Commission’s document also outlines additional flexibilities, such as integrating CO2 removal projects into the EU carbon market, allowing industries to buy removal credits to offset emissions.
Countries would also gain more flexibility in deciding which sectors shoulder the biggest emission cuts, helping them meet targets more cost-effectively.
The shift follows pushback from governments including Italy, Poland, and the Czech Republic, who fear the costs of a strict 90 percent target could hurt industries and strain national budgets already stretched by defence spending and other priorities.
The European Commission declined to comment on the leaked draft, which is due for official release on July 2 and may still change before publication.
Once unveiled, the proposal will go through negotiations with EU countries and the European Parliament, who could revise the final target.
At least 54 migrants have drowned and dozens remain missing after a boat carrying around 150 people sank in bad weather off southern Yemen on Sunday, ...
The bodies of a pilot and his 13-year-old son have been recovered after their biplane crashed into the sea off the coast of Mallorca, Spanish authorit...
A top aide to President Donald Trump has accused India of helping finance Russia’s war in Ukraine through its continued oil purchases, as Washington...
President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney are expected to speak in the coming days as Ottawa seeks to defuse tensions over a new ...
It’s vast, it’s unstable, and it holds enough ice to reshape the world’s coastlines. Thwaites Glacier, ominously nicknamed the “Doomsday Glaci...
The European Commission has said it does not view imposing network fees on major technology firms as a practical solution to the ongoing debate over funding the expansion of 5G and broadband infrastructure across the bloc.
The U.S. State Department has intensified its months-long campaign against the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), drawing sharp reactions from European officials just days before a crucial trade deadline between the two sides.
Meta has announced it will halt political, electoral, and social issue ads in the European Union from October due to the region's new Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising regulation (TTPA).
Germany is preparing multi-billion-euro defence purchases including jets and thousands of armoured vehicles, aiming to create Europe’s most powerful army amid concerns over U.S. reliability.
The world’s biggest dance music festival faces an unexpected setback as a fire destroys its main stage, prompting a last-minute response from organisers determined to keep the party alive in Boom, Belgium.
According to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), a magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck the Oaxaca region of Mexico on Saturday.
Australian researchers have created a groundbreaking “biological AI” platform that could revolutionise drug discovery by rapidly evolving molecules within mammalian cells.
A series of earthquakes have struck Guatemala on Tuesday afternoon, leading authorities to advise residents to evacuate from buildings as a precaution against possible aftershocks.
China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will send an upgraded ‘version 3.0’ free-trade agreement to their heads of government for approval in October, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Saturday after regional talks in Kuala Lumpur.
Supporters of Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro gathered in São Paulo on 3 August, calling for justice reform and denouncing legal cases against the far-right leader as politically motivated.
At least 54 migrants have drowned and dozens remain missing after a boat carrying around 150 people sank in bad weather off southern Yemen on Sunday, according to health officials.
The bodies of a pilot and his 13-year-old son have been recovered after their biplane crashed into the sea off the coast of Mallorca, Spanish authorities said on Sunday.
A top aide to President Donald Trump has accused India of helping finance Russia’s war in Ukraine through its continued oil purchases, as Washington increases pressure on New Delhi with new tariffs and warnings.
President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney are expected to speak in the coming days as Ottawa seeks to defuse tensions over a new 35% U.S. tariff on non-agreement Canadian goods.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment