EU Agrees To Be Carbon Neutral By 2050

The European Union has agreed a tentative climate deal that should make the 27-nation bloc climate-neutral by 2050.

The move comes with member states and parliament agreeing on the targets on the eve of a virtual summit that U.S. President Joe Biden will host.

Under the provisional deal reached after officials negotiated through the night, the EU also commits itself on an intermediate target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030.

Early Wednesday, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said their political commitment to becoming the first climate neutral continent by 2050 is now a legal commitment.

MEP Peter Liese, the negotiator for the EPP Christian Democrat group said It was high time for the agreement, as Europe had to show where it stands in view of the positive developments in the USA and China.

Up to now, the 2030 target had been 40% but under the pressure of increasing evidence of climate change, that target was pushed up, even if the EU legislature had wanted a 60% target.

The United States, the world’s second-biggest polluter after China, is preparing to announce its new target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

Under Biden, the United States has returned to the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and all global partners will be meeting in Glasgow, Scotland, to push for strong targets.

However, Wednesday’s EU deal still needs to be officially approved by the member states and the legislature but should be little more than a rubber stamp.