On the 10th, the European Parliament passed the EU's 2040 climate target by 413 votes to 226, aiming to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 90% compared to 1990 levels.
This is a major milestone for whether the EU can reach carbon neutrality by the middle of this century.
Since member states such as Italy still have doubts about this target, the final text passed by the European Parliament includes a compromise, allowing up to 5% of emission reductions to be counted by purchasing carbon credits from outside the EU. The target will await final approval by each EU member state.
In the future, if the EU deems it necessary, an additional 5% quota may be made available to member states to fulfill their carbon reduction targets through international carbon market purchases.
Additionally, under pressure from Poland and Hungary, the final agreement postpones the start date of the carbon trading system for road transport and building heating by one year, to 2028.
As of 2023, EU greenhouse gas emissions have already been reduced by 37% compared to 1990 levels.