ENVI Committee: votes in favour of the amended regulation establishing the 2040 climate targets

The ENVI Committee of the Parliament adopted the amended regulation establishing the 2040 climate targets, in the margins of the Plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 19/01/2026. The text, presented by its rapporteur Ondřej Knotek (PfE), collected 50 votes in favour (supported by a near-majority of the S&D, Greens, Renew and the Left), 26 votes against and 1 abstention.

This text amends the European Climate Law by introducing a 90% net greenhouse gas emission reduction compared to 1990 levels as an intermediate target for 2040, before achieving net zero in 2050. The trilogue negotiations were concluded on 10/12/2025.

This target of 90% is "made up of a domestic target of 85% and up to 5% of [high-quality] international carbon credit" (+2 percentage points more than initially proposed by the Commission), Commissioner for Climate, net zero and clean growth, Wopke Hoekstra explained at the time.

Additionally, "to facilitate the achievement of the 2040 climate target", the text includes a "pilot period to initiate a high-quality and high-integrity international…