• Recent reports suggest Commission is backsliding on 2040 target commitment.

• Flexibilities reportedly being discussed include a weaker trajectory to 2040 and possible integration of international credits.

• EU must continue to provide regulatory certainty and invest in domestic climate action to retain global climate leadership and industrial competitiveness.

Recent news suggests that the European Commission may be walking back on its stated commitments to 90% net emission reductions within the European Union.   

In February 2024, the Commission published its Impact Assessment on the 2040 target, alongside a Communication recommending the Union adopt a target to reduce net emissions by 90%.  

This was then reiterated during Commissioner Hoekstra’s confirmation hearing at the European Parliament on the 7^th November 2024. In response to a question about the EU’s role in international climate negotiations, Commissioner Hoekstra responded that:  

“The EU’s international credibility rests on our domestic action, including the Fit-for-55 measures, as well as the vision we provided by putting forward a 2040 recommendation.” 

The latest rumours suggest that the Commission is engaging informal consultations with the political groups of the European Parliament and the EU’s Member States on the types of flexibilities that could be included in the proposal, which itself is likely to be delayed until ‘before Summer’. 

This clear attempt at backsliding signals a regulatory uncertainty which strongly penalises frontrunners and significantly dampens the EU’s standing on the international stage at a time when the world is looking to the EU for leadership on climate ambition.  

The possible introduction of international credits would also outsource investment in industrial decarbonisation and innovation outside the EU’s borders and would directly contradict the key message Mario Draghi’s Competitiveness Report that Europe must invest immensely to retain its industrial base, and to create stronger, more resilient EU economy to face the climate crisis.