On February 26, the European Commission will not unveil its long-awaited proposal to set a new EU climate goal by 2040, as previously planned.
This was reported by the European Commission spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen in an interview with POLITICO.
According to her, the 2040 goal "will be presented in the near future, but not as part of the Clean Industrial Deal package, which will be published on February 26.
The publication reminded that this weekend a senior official told POLITICO that the European Commission had agreed to publish changes to the bloc's climate legislation this week, along with a strategy to stimulate and decarbonize the EU's struggling manufacturing industries.
The proposal formalizes the European Commission's recommendation last year to cut emissions by 90% by 2040 and kicks off the EU legislative process involving national governments and the European Parliament.
Since the proposal will not be available until March, more than a year will have passed since the recommendation in February 2024 by the time the changes are published. POLITICO explains this delay in part by the suspension of lawmaking in the EU during the European Parliament election year, as well as by political pressure.
"Poland, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU Council, hopes to avoid addressing the issue until after its May elections," the publication says.
Meanwhile, the largest faction in the European Parliament, the European People's Party of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, is divided on whether to support the 90 percent target.
In the EU Council, only 8 countries unequivocally supported this goal, POLITICO reports.
EcoPolitic recently reported that the EU plans to amend its climate legislation, and the European Commission intends to propose that the bloc countries jointly reduce their emissions by 90% by 2040 compared to 1990.
