This Tuesday, February 10, the European Parliament confirmed the agreement reached with the Council of the European Union to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2040, with the aim of achieving climate neutrality by 2050.
This agreement, which aims to amend the EU Climate Law, had been reached on December 10, 2025, after negotiations between the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union (EU), but still required approval from the hemicycle.
This Tuesday, submitted to a plenary vote, MEPs approved it with 413 votes in favor, 226 against and 12 abstentions, All that is now required is final approval by the EU Council before it can enter into force.
In the agreement in question, an intermediate average is established to achieve climate neutrality by 2050: a 90% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, compared to 1990 levels.
However, flexibility is introduced “in how the 2040 target can be achieved”says the European Parliament in a statement.
“From 2036, up to five percentage points of net emissions reductions can come from high-quality international carbon credits, from partner countries”, whose “climate goals and policies are compatible with the goals of the Paris Agreement”, reads the statement.
In the case of Portugal, for example, this means that sustainable projects in countries such as the Portuguese-Speaking African Countries (PALOP) can count towards the Portuguese target.
“MEPs also included safeguards to prevent the financing of projects that go against the EU’s strategic interests,” says the European Parliament.
Despite a goal being established for 2040, the agreement provides, however, that this goal may be changed, as part of an assessment carried out by the European Commission every two years to check the progress being made.
“Following the assessment, the Commission may propose changes to climate legislation, which could involve changing the target to 2040 or adopting additional measures to strengthen the support framework – for example, to safeguard the EU’s competitiveness, prosperity and social unity”, it says.
In this assessment, carried out by the European Commission, “up-to-date scientific data, technological developments” will be taken into account, but also issues such as “trends in energy prices and their repercussions, both for companies and households”.
The European Climate Law was approved in June 2021, during the Portuguese presidency of the EU Council, and establishes the objective of achieving climate neutrality by 2050, with an intermediate target of reducing emissions by 55% by 2030.
In July 2025, the European Commission proposed an amendment to the law to enshrine the target for 2040, today approved by the European Parliament.
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