Has Poland had its way? In the conclusions from the summit, the EU “waters down” climate goals

The draft conclusions from the upcoming EU summit include new provisions that “dilute” the achievement of climate goals and – as an EU diplomat said – are consistent with some of Poland's demands. This includes: o the possibility of revising EU goals in the event of unforeseen circumstances.

At the request of several member states, the issue of establishing a new climate target for the EU for 2040 will be one of the topics of the EU summit scheduled for Thursday in Brussels. These countries wanted – before ministers make a decision on this matter – a discussion on the effects of the new target on the European economy to be held by EU heads of state and government. One of these countries was Poland, which is critical of setting a new target.

The draft proposals to be adopted by leaders on Thursday include a provision calling on the European Commission to accelerate work on tools to facilitate the implementation of climate goals. Leaders are asked to identify three such solutions. As PAP and Polskie Radio found out, the solutions indicated in the project are partially consistent with Polish expectations.

Poland is most interested in introducing a clause that will enable the revision of ambitious EU plans. The idea is to protect ourselves in the event of unforeseen circumstances, e.g. high energy prices in the EU or decisions of global players, such as China or the USA, that affect EU competitiveness.

The second solution mentioned in the draft conclusions from the summit is the establishment of the so-called carbon credits. They will allow the financing of green projects in third countries (e.g. tree planting), which Member States will be able to include in their CO2 reduction calculations.

The third tool concerns carbon sequestration. The idea is to take into account the contribution that CO2 removal projects through certain activities, such as tree planting, make to the overall emissions reduction effort.

The European Commission has proposed that the EU commits to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 90%. compared to 1990. The 2040 target will be transitional – it is intended to lead to the Community achieving climate neutrality in 2050.

From Luxembourg Magdalena Cedro (PAP)

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