EU environment ministers are meeting in Brussels for a last-ditch attempt to agree a climate target before the COP climate summit.
The European Commission has proposed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent by 2040, but so far ministers have not been able to reach an agreement on that percentage.
Under the Paris climate agreement, the EU must inform the UN of its ten-year plan to cut emissions before the COP meeting in Brazil.
But it cannot do that until the long-term 2040 target has been set.
Some member states are worried that setting a target that is too stringent will kill European industry.
So far, ministers have only been able to agree to a range of cutting emissions between 66 and 72 percent by 2035.
Speaking ahead of the meeting in Brussels this morning, the EU’s Climate Commissioner, Wopke Hoekstra, insisted that that is already an impressive objective.
“It shows for me the leadership, the ambition and the realism that Europe is putting to the table.
And what is at the heart of what we need to do with this Commission, and with Europe, is make sure that we bridge climate action with competitiveness…We want to take an important step today, but this will stay with us for years to come”, he warned.
The latest draft proposals include a number of measures to try and bring sceptical member states on board.
That includes the provision of a review clause.
A senior EU diplomat admitted that that could mean a future downgrade to the 2040 target, if it proved too tough to meet.
Ministers have also proposed an “emergency brake” which could be triggered if carbon sinks do not absorb as much CO2 as scientists currently estimate.
Carbon sinks are where nature stores carbon, for example when forests are planted since trees absorb carbon dioxide.
But a recent report by the European Environment Agency (EEA) warned that the amount of carbon being absorbed appears to have “weakened” in recent years.
The EEA said that if Europe’s efforts relied too heavily on carbon being offset in carbon sinks, the European Union may fail to reach its net zero ambition.
NGOs say that the 90 percent cut by 2040 should be seen as the “bare minimum” recommended by scientists.
“EU climate policy should be built on scientific integrity, not political convenience”, said Mathieu Mal from the NGO, the European Environmental Bureau (EEB).
“After having peddled their loophole riddled wish lists for months, some governments are set to lower ambition and endanger climate action even further.
EU governments face a choice: fuel a global race to the bottom or step up and lead the world in confronting the deepening climate emergency.”