Stronger emissions target not required until ‘next decade’

EU regulators will say this week the EU does not need to set a more ambitious greenhouse gas target until the next decade, a text seen by Reuters shows, even though the Paris climate deal stipulates a preliminary review of goals in 2018.

Such a decision would please member state Poland, whose economy relies on coal, but anger environment campaigners, who see the Paris Agreement, agreed in December, as an argument for the EU to step up its climate action.

The EU has agreed an outline target to cut emissions by at least 40% by 2030 from 1990 levels and has embarked on a difficult debate on sharing the task among its 28 member states.