This translation has been automatically generated and has not been verified for accuracy.French President Emmanuel Macron gestures after an all night negotiating session at an EU summit in Brussels, Friday, Dec. 11, 2020. European Union leaders have reached a hard-fought deal to cut the bloc's greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 per cent by the end of the decade compared with 1990 levels.
But the long-awaited deal on a massive long-term budget and coronavirus recovery clinched Thursday by EU leaders swung the momentum. Another delay in revising the EU’s current 40 per cent emission cuts objective for 2030 would have been particularly embarrassing before the virtual Climate Ambition Summit marking five years since the Paris deal, and leaders worked to the wire to seal a deal.
In addition, the European Commission will take into account specific national situations when drawing up the measures. A progress report will be submitted to the European Council in the spring. World leaders agreed five years ago in Paris to keep the global warming increase to below 2C, and ideally no more than 1.5C by the end of the century. Under the Paris accord, countries are required to submit updated climate targets by the end of this year.