Deal reached on EU Climate law

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Renew Europe first reactions

Date: April 21, 2021

After all-night negotiations, the EU legislators have found an agreement on the European Climate law, enshrining our common commitment to climate neutrality by 2050 into law.

The Renew Europe group is particularly proud the European Parliament has managed to de facto raise the ambition for 2030: By giving priority to direct emissions reductions and at the same time enhancing natural carbon sinks, the actual net emissions reduction will rise close to 57%.

In addition, on top of the 2050 neutrality target, the EU will aim to achieve negative emissions beyond 2050.

The compromise improves measures to keep track of progress and adjust policies accordingly, such as the introduction of a greenhouse gas budget, which is needed to make long-term plans and investment decisions. Member states are also required to develop climate adaptation strategies to reduce their vulnerability to the effects of climate change.

“A historic result”, Renew Europe shadow Nils Torvalds (Svenska folkpartiet, FI) calls it: “It is clear that most MEPs would have liked the Council and the Commission to have taken a more ambitious stance on the issue, but it was no surprise that the European Parliament's proposals met with strong opposition, especially from certain Member States. Given the expectations, I think that we as Europeans can be satisfied that we have reached an agreement that makes Europe the first continent with a practical plan on how to achieve climate neutrality.”

Pascal Canfin (Liste Renaissance, FR), chair of the Parliament’s ENVI committee, adds: “Today, Europe confirms its leadership in the fight against climate change. 24 hours before the Climate Leaders' Summit, we are further strengthening our European climate objectives by reducing our emissions by almost 57% compared to 1990. The Parliament was obviously ready to go even further, but the compromise reached is ambitious: We will do 2.5 times more in 9 years than we have done in the last 10 years in Europe.”

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