As concerns about climate change take precedence over trade and defense, the bloc agrees to compromises to win support from skeptical countries.
Published November 5, 2025
European Union climate ministers, desperate to win support from member states ahead of the United Nations COP30 summit in the Amazon, have struck a watered-down deal on emissions reduction targets.
Ministers approved a compromise early Wednesday after marathon talks on how the EU would tackle cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent by 2040, introducing flexibilities that would effectively hand over some of the task to foreign countries.
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The compromise would allow countries to buy foreign carbon credits to cover up to 5% of the overall goal of cutting emissions by 90% compared to 1990 levels. In a further concession, the bloc also agreed to explore the option of using international carbon credits to reach a further 5% of the target.
“Setting climate targets is not just about picking numbers. It is a political decision with far-reaching implications for the continent,” Denmark’s Climate Minister Lars Aagaard said, adding that he and his colleagues had worked to provide “comforts” that maintain “competitiveness, social balance and security.”
In a further effort to win over skeptical member states, EU countries agreed to reassess their overall 2040 target every two years. The two leaders also agreed to weaken other politically sensitive climate policies and delay the launch of a future EU carbon market from 2027 to 2028.
A handful of countries, including Poland, Slovakia and Hungary, opposed the 2040 climate target on the grounds that it would hurt industrial competitiveness, but they were unable to block the deal, which needed support from just 15 of the EU’s 27 members.
The United Nations had called on all governments around the world to submit climate change plans for 2035 before the COP30 climate change summit opened on Monday in Brazil. The agreement means European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will not arrive at the meeting empty-handed.
The talks will test the will of major countries to continue fighting climate change despite opposition from skeptics like US President Donald Trump.
The EU, in particular, has taken pride in leading international efforts to curb climate change in past COPs, but recently concerns about climate change have taken a backseat to defense and competitiveness.
Environmental groups accused countries of undermining the region’s climate ambitions by imposing loopholes.
Hundreds of environmental and human rights groups and activists wrote a letter in late September calling for justice and reparations for those disproportionately affected by the climate crisis, colonialism and slavery to be at the heart of the COP30 conference.
