On Monday, the European Parliament’s Environment Committee (ENVI) adopted its position on the 2040 climate target, largely mirroring the deal reached by EU ministers last week, with 55 votes in favor and 32 against.

Members of the ENVI committee backed a 90% emissions reduction target for 2040 compared to levels recorded in 1990 and reaffirmed the goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050. The lawmakers also “agree with the Commission’s proposal to introduce new flexibilities in how the targets can be met,” according to the press release.

However, committee members decided to allow Member States “to use 5% of high quality international carbon credits” starting in 2036, with assurances “that this will be subject to robust safeguards.” The share is higher than the 3% originally proposed by the Commission and aligns with the level agreed by EU ministers.

According to Reueter, the committee dismissed a proposal from the far-right Patriots for Europe group that sought to abolish the climate target entirely.

“This outcome is not as ambitious as we would have wanted – in line with the science, we advocated for 90% domestic reductions with international credits beyond that. But this deal is better than no deal; it’s better to have a binding commitment by 2040 than none,” said the spokesperson in ENVI for the S&D, the second biggest political group in the European Parliament.