⇑ 2024 år klimatmål blir lag

The European Commission will not unveil its long-awaited proposal to enshrine into law the European Union's new 2040 climate target on Wednesday, a spokesperson told POLITICO Tuesday.

A senior official told POLITICO over the weekend that the Commission had agreed to publish an amendment to the bloc's climate law this week alongside a strategy to boost and decarbonize the EU's struggling manufacturing industries.

The 2040 target "will be presented soon, but not as part of tomorrow's Clean Industrial Deal package," said Commission spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, adding that there was no specific date yet.

The amendment will formalize last year's Commission recommendation to cut emissions by 90 percent by 2040, kicking off the EU's legislative process involving national governments and the European Parliament.

With the proposal not coming before March, more than a year has now passed since the February 2024 recommendation.

That's in part due to EU lawmaking grinding to a halt in the bloc's election year. But the proposal's timing is also subject to political pressures. Poland, which holds the rotating Council of the EU presidency, hopes to avoid dealing with the issue until after its May election.

Meanwhile, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's center-right European People's Party, the largest faction in the European Parliament, is divided over whether to back the 90 percent goal. In the Council, only eight countries have explicitly supported it.

⇑ Clean Industrial Deal

The European Union's Clean Industrial Deal, due to be proposed on 26 February 2025, will be a plan to create a conducive business environment for an industrial transformation that will marry decarbonisation with industrial competitiveness. Where does Europe stand on this transformation currently, however? Based on the Bruegel Clean Tech Tracker (Jugé et al, 2024), we look at five aspects the clean industrial deal is sure to take into account:

⇑ Källor

• Commission pushes EUs 2040 climate law into spring, Politico
• Clean industrial transformation: where does Europe stand? Bruegel (2025-02-24)
• Commissioner Tzitzikostas speech at the Transport & Environment event From the Green Deal to the Clean Industrial Deal, EU-kommissionen (2025-02-17)
• President Von der Leyen's Ambitious Vision: Europe's Clean Industrial Revolution Unveiled! #industry, Youtude (2025-02-26)