Changes to EU rules around carbon offsets amount to a watering down of commitments, climate campaigners have said.
The EU has set a 2040 goal for member states to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 90% based on 1990 levels.
The 90% target represents the lower end of the 90-95% range that the EU’s climate advisers said was possible by 2040. It also allows carbon offsets, or credits, from outside the bloc to be used to meet up to 3% of the target.
Carbon credits are derived from projects designed to remove GHGs from the atmosphere through efforts such as reforestation, renewable energy or methane capture. But the efficacy of many offset projects has been brought into question in the past. In its policy document, the EU states that any credits utilised would need to be of “high quality” and “come from credible and transformative activities”.
Nevertheless, making use of projects from outside the EU removes the ability for that country to count that particular offset against their own climate...