Countries’ deal on 2040 target risks turning into a Pyrrhic victory on climate

After months of suspense, EU member states finally agreed to back a 2040 target to deliver a 90% cut in the bloc’s net emissions from 1990 levels. On the surface, the deal sticks closely to the Commission’s original plans, but the fine print includes numerous tweaks to cushion the impacts of climate action on EU competitiveness — so much so that questions now abound on whether the freshly inked deal can deliver or whether it might send Europe’s wider climate agenda into a tailspin.

06 November 2025 at 8h00

Energy

by Damien Genicot Adapted from French by Gabriela Galindo

Following a day of negotiations that stretched into the early hours of 5 November, EU environment ministers agreed that by 2040, the bloc should have cut greenhouse gas emissions by 90% from 1990 levels — the ambition put forward by the European Commission over the summer.

“We now have the foundations we need to shape the future of our continent — a continent that takes its climate responsibility seriously ... and where our economy can grow,” the Council’s chair, Danish…

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