Europe is moving to a decisive stage in discussions to toughen the bloc’s 2030 climate target and put into law the ambition to become the world’s first climate neutral continent by the middle of the century. European Union governments will discuss Wednesday a plan for the leaders to endorse at their Dec. 10-11 meeting a goal of reducing greenhouse gases by at least 55% by 2030 from 1990 levels.

Draft guidelines for a political statement at the summit include assurances on financing the transition away from fossil fuels and the acknowledgment of differing national conditions in member states, according to an EU document obtained by Bloomberg News. That move is aimed at convincing Poland and some other countries to drop their reservations about the radical environmental clean-up.

At stake is the EU’s global leadership on climate change and investor certainty at a time when the 27-nation bloc is gearing up for a green economic overhaul that will impact every area of life from transport to agriculture.

Not Green Enough

Production of EU electricity by source in 2018

Source: Eurostat

The Green Deal aims for Europe to toughen the 2030 emissions-reduction goal from the existing 40%, an effort that would need an additional 350 billion euros ($415 billion) per year for investment in energy production and infrastructure.

An agreement on the Green Deal law requires unanimity from all EU leaders, a challenging task given concerns by Poland and others about the costs of the clean shift. Nations including Ireland and Belgium have joined the government in Warsaw in a call for more detailed analysis on how much individual member states would need to spend to meet tougher climate goals.

Poland Seeks EU Carbon Market Changes To Help Green Transition

The final decision on whether to seek a deal at the December summit will be in the hands of European Council President Charles Michel, who will chair the meeting.

The Wednesday discussion among ambassadors representing EU member states will provide more feedback to Michel before he proposes in a week a draft political statement for the leaders to sign off in December. Depending on reactions by member states, the draft may be different from the guidelines sent to governments on Tuesday.

THE GUIDELINES PROPOSED BY MICHEL INCLUDE:
  • A call by EU leaders for governments and the European Parliament to swiftly adopt the Green Deal law with a 2030 CO2-reduction target of 55%
  • Pledge to achieve the new 2030 target in a way that preserves the EU’s competitiveness and takes account of national circumstances
  • Acknowledgment of the need to ensure security of energy supplies at an affordable price
  • The new 2030 target needs to be achieved in a way that preserves the EU’s competitiveness and takes account of member states’ national circumstances
  • A call on the European Commission to take into account the impact of stricter targets on member states in a proposal to reform the EU carbon market
    • The Modernization Fund under the EU Emissions Trading System to help finance the costs of the transition to climate neutrality
    • A levy on imports on emissions-intensive products to help protect businesses from relocating to countries with laxer climate policies