EU agrees to aim for net-zero economy “as early as possible”, new energy efficiency target

Negotiators from the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council have agreed to aim for a net-zero emissions economy “as early as possible”, with a carbon budget and national strategies for 2050, Euractiv reports. The Parliament went into negotiations with a “red line” – to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Under the agreement, the Commission will have until 1 April 2019 to propose a 2050 EU strategy for greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement.
EU negotiators also signed off on new laws on energy efficiency for the next decade, Euractiv says in a separate article. The new regulatory framework includes a 2030 energy efficiency target for the EU of 32.5 percent.

Read the articles in English here and here, and find Commission press releases here and here.