2040 climate targets: "France wants to weaken the national commitments" (CAN/WFF Europe)

"On the Council side, some Member States like Italy, Poland, or Slovakia are actively against the 90% reduction target. Some members have a huge wish-list that they use as a trade-off to make sure that they can support 90% and make this report conditional, such as France, which is the current deal-maker on this file, and wants to weaken the national commitments. Some Member States' positions, like Belgium and Ireland, remain unknown so far, while Denmark and Spain are currently championing the ambition", says Michael Sicaud-Clyet, Climate and Energy policy officer at the WWF European policy office.

Ahead of the ENVI Council, which will take place in Brussels on 18/09/2025, policy experts from CAN (Climate Action Network) Europe and WWF Europe reminded what is at stake in this round of discussions. On 12/09/2025, the Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU announced that no vote would take place during the meeting of Climate and Environment Ministers, thus postponing the decision on the 2040 climate targets to the end of October, at the next meeting of the Heads of States…