According to European climate legislation, EU countries must reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 % by 2030. Their goal is to achieve climate neutrality of the EU by 2050.

A climate-neutral EU by 2050

In December 2019, EU leaders meeting at the European Council agreed that the EU should achieve climate neutrality by 2050. Climate neutrality means that only as much greenhouse gas will be released into the atmosphere as can be absorbed by nature, i.e. forests, oceans and soil. To be like this zero emissions balance reached by 2050, EU countries will have to significantly reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and find ways to offset the remaining and necessary emissions.

In its conclusions, the European Council emphasized that the transition to climate neutrality brings significant opportunities for:

• economic growth
• markets and jobs
• technological development

EU leaders asked the European Commission to continue working on European Green Agreement.