EU Unveils Overdue Target to Curb Green House Gas by 2040

Syllabus: GS3/ Environment

Context

• The European Commission has proposed a legally binding goal to reduce net Green House Gas emissions by 90% by 2040, compared to 1990 levels.

EU’s Recent Plans to Curb Greenhouse Gas Emissions

• The 2040 milestone is built to ensure trajectory to the 2050 climate-neutral goal, offering policy clarity to citizens, industrial investment, and global diplomacy.
• Carbon Offsets from Outside Europe: From 2036 onwards, countries can meet up to 3% of their reduction target through carbon credits generated from climate projects outside the EU.
• Technological Neutrality: The EU is open to all types of clean or low-carbon technologies to reduce pollution, like Renewable energy, Nuclear energy, Carbon capture and storage (CCS), and Carbon removal.
• Complementary Policies:
  • Fit for 55 package targets a 55% cut by 2030, expanding European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) and rolling out the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
  • Heavy industries may get exemptions via free permits to protect competitiveness.

India’s Commitments Emission Reductions

• India has launched the LiFE mission (Lifestyle for Environment) and updated its NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions) under the Paris Agreement.
• Under its updated NDC 2022, India pledges:
  • 45% reduction in emissions intensity (amount of CO₂ per unit of GDP) by 2030, compared to 2005 levels.
  • 50% of installed electricity capacity will come from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030.
  • Creating a carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalent (GtCO₂e) by increasing forests and tree cover.

What is the Progress under GHG Emission Reduction?

• Progress of European Union: Achieved a 37% reduction in emissions since 1990. In 2023 alone, emissions fell by 8.3%, even though the economy continued to grow.
  • The EU is now using a mix of clean energy sources like renewables (solar, wind), nuclear power, and carbon capture technology to meet its goals.
  • The EU has strong policies and tools like CBAM, ETS and Horizon Europe.
• India’s 4th Biennial Update Report (BUR-4), highlighted a 7.93% reduction in GHG emissions in 2020 compared to 2019.
  • Emission intensity (per unit GDP) saw a 36% reduction from 2005 to 2020.
• As of October 2024, India’s installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel sources reached 46.5%, totaling approximately 203GW.
  • Solar power alone accounted for roughly 92 GW of this capacity.
• India ranked 10th in the Climate Change Performance Index 2025, scoring high in GHG emissions and energy use but weaker in climate policy and renewable deployment.

Challenges in GHG Emission Reduction 

• The EU faces challenges in reducing GHG emissions due to industrial resistance seeking relaxed rules, reliance on foreign carbon credits that may shift the burden to poorer nations, and slow progress in the transport sector, where road emissions remain high.
• India’s Heavy Dependence on Coal: Coal still fuels ~75% of Indian emissions.  Also, the steel industry is growing fast and still depends heavily on coal, which adds to the pollution problem.
• Climate Targets Need to Be Stronger: India has set climate goals ( NDCs), but experts say they are not strong enough to limit global warming to 1.5°C. 
• Policy Gaps Remain: India is setting up a carbon market (where companies can trade the right to emit carbon), but it is still optional and not fully working yet. 

What are the Suggestions?

• The EU should tighten offset rules by allowing only high-integrity credits, speed up transport decarbonisation by advancing vehicle mandates, and boost funding—using CBAM revenues—to support vulnerable regions and sectors.
• India can raise its NDC ambition with deeper emission cuts across key sectors, promote a green industrial shift (e.g., hydrogen, electric arc furnaces), make carbon trading mandatory by 2026 with strict oversight, and improve energy efficiency through stronger standards and expanded solar and EV adoption.

Concluding remarks

• The EU’s 2040 climate target represents a critical midpoint between ambition and feasibility in the journey toward net zero.
• While the inclusion of carbon offsets provides tactical flexibility, it also raises important ethical and governance questions. 
• For India and the Global South, it reinforces the need to advocate for just and equitable climate action in global platforms while preparing domestic policies for a green future.

Source: TH