The figure had been debated for several months.
The leaders of the Twenty-Seven wanted since November a reduction of 55% of carbon emissions in Europe by 2030 while the European Parliament called for a reduction of "at least 60%".
An agreement has been found, it will be 55%.
This objective will be set in stone in the future climate law.
An announcement that comes on the eve of a climate summit initiated by US President Joe Biden, during which Washington must unveil its own revised goal for 2030.
Read alsoGreenhouse gases: are France's results so satisfactory?
“This is a historic moment for the European Union.
The agreement strengthens our position in the world as a leader in the fight against the climate crisis ”, welcomed Frans Timmermans, Vice-President of the Commission in charge of the European“ Green Pact ”.
For his part, the Portuguese Minister of the Environment Joao Pedro Matos Fernandes, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the EU, hailed "a strong signal to the whole world".
Legally binding
"Parliament was obviously ready to go even further, but the compromise found is ambitious: we are going to do two and a half times more in 9 years than what we have done in the last 10 years in Europe", observed the MEP Pascal Canfin (Renew, Liberals), chairman of the Environment committee in the European Parliament.
From now on, “the objective of carbon neutrality for 2050 will become legally binding,” added German MEP Peter Liese (EPP, pro-EU right) in a tweet.
On the other hand, he regretted, this objective of carbon neutrality will apply collectively to all the Twenty-Seven, but will not be imposed on each State individually, contrary to what Parliament wished.
Poland, on the other hand, still very dependent on coal, was fiercely opposed.
Concerns for the auto market
In the agreement reached, the objective is a “net” reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, that is to say that includes the compensation of CO2 emissions by natural “carbon sinks”, via the reforestation for example.
But environmental NGOs and green MEPs have denounced this “net” target which takes into account in particular the CO2 captured by forests and which risks thus automatically reducing the actual reduction required from polluting sectors.
However, this reduction in carbon emissions worries several industrial sectors, starting with the automobile.
The strengthening of the standards imposed by Brussels and the Chinese domination of the market for batteries and components for electric vehicles may result in the loss of 100,000 jobs among manufacturers and subcontractors in France by 2035, according to the Observatory of metallurgy.
The automotive industry in France would only employ 90,000 people.
Luc Chatel, the president of the automotive platform bringing together industrialists in the sector, estimated that the public authorities must act quickly, otherwise France will be “downgraded” in this industrial sector.
