Turning the 2040 Climate Target into Action

Posted on June, 26 2026

he EU recently adopted a 2040 climate target to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by 90% compared to 1990 levels, as an intermediate milestone on the path to climate neutrality by 2050. However, this target, on its own, does not determine how the EU and its Member States will deliver the necessary emission reductions, protect and enhance the land carbon sink, or ensure a fair distribution of effort across countries and sectors.

Much of the EU’s core legislation regarding emissions reductions targets requires a post-2030 legislative framework, including the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS1) framework, the Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR), and the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) Regulation. As a result, the upcoming Commission proposals to revise these laws will define how the 2040 target will be met.

In light of the upcoming legislative revisions WWF calls for emissions targets in the post-2030 architecture to be based on the following principles:

Ensure a just and fair transition. Post-2030 legislative proposals must reflect the need for a socially balanced transition for all. Targets must be accompanied by assessment of distributional socio-economic impacts and corresponding measures put in place to protect citizens, households, workers and communities from negative impacts.

Environmental integrity must be a priority. The post-2030 climate architecture must prioritise real, measurable and verifiable emissions reductions within the EU. Climate action must be pursued in a way that safeguards biodiversity, natural carbon sinks, resource use, and prevent the weakening of mitigation incentives. Policies should avoid negative impacts on ecosystems, land use, water, and communities, while enhancing the resilience of natural systems.

Fair and binding distribution among Member States. When setting the national climate targets, EU countries should follow a binding and fair system of carbon budgets decided for each year. These budgets should gradually become stricter over time and ensure that emissions are reduced early on and steadily, so that all countries contribute fairly and stay on track to reach the 2040 target and climate neutrality.

Separate targets for 2040 at the EU level. EU climate policy should treat emission reduction, natural carbon sinks and permanent removals as distinct systems, each governed by separate and non-fungible framework with binding and fairly allocated responsibilities, strict ecological safeguards, and no use as substitutes for emissions reductions in other sectors. Concretely, this means a binding gross emission reduction target, a binding ambitious LULUCF target of at least 400MtCO2-eq taking into account the projected deficit in 2030, and a permanent removal target.

Alignment with the Paris Agreement. The design of post-2030 targets must be firmly aligned with the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement, meaning that short- and medium-term policies should lead to rapid emissions cuts and not delay action, create lock-ins or rely on uncertain future technologies.

Robust governance and accountability. EU climate targets must be backed by robust, enforceable compliance mechanisms that ensure timely national action, with regular monitoring, escalation for non-compliance, and penalty revenues reinvested directly into climate mitigation and carbon sink protection within the sectors they originate from. 

How the post-2030 climate architecture must embed these principles in its design and scope can be found in the position paper.