A climate-neutral EU by 2050

EU leaders, meeting at the European Council, agreed in December 2019 that the EU should achieve climate neutrality by 2050. Achieving climate neutrality means that EU countries will need to significantly reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and find ways to offset the remaining and necessary emissions in order to reach net-zero emissions. In its conclusions, the European Council underlined that the transition to climate neutrality brings significant opportunities for:

• economic growth
• markets and jobs
• technological development

EU leaders asked the Commission to continue work on the European Green Deal. They also recognised the need to ensure that the green transition is cost-effective, but also socially balanced and fair.