EU member states have agreed to work towards cutting emissions of greenhouse gases by around 66% to 72% by 2035.

The Council of the EU (council of ministers) has also agreed to set a target of reducing emissions by 90% by 2040.

As a stepping stone to that target, the council has set an indicative target of between 66.25% and 72.5% over the next 10 years.

The larger 2040 target is itself part of a process of hitting carbon neutrality by 2050.

The agreement in the council today (Wednesday, November 5) is also part of the process of updating the EU's nationally determined contribution (NDC), which is required under the Paris Climate Agreement.

The NDC will be submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) ahead of COP30, which takes place from November 10-21.

This latest NDC (which is developed by the EU on behalf of all its member states) also reiterates the EU's goal of achieving a net reduction of 55% in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 as well as the 2040 target and the 2035 indicative target.

"The updated NDC builds on previous commitments, aiming to accelerate the transition to a decarbonised economy and industry, and outlines the EU's ongoing efforts to achieve climate neutrality in line with the objectives of the Paris Agreement," a statement from the council said.

The updated NDC outlines the EUs climate targets and the policy frameworks to achieve them, including an adequate contribution of high-quality international credits in a manner that is "both ambitious and cost-efficient" in order to meet the 2040 90% target.

The agreement says that this will be divided into an 85% domestic EU target and further 5% reduction made up of international carbon credits.

The NDC also commits the EU to tripling renewable energy capacity globally and doubling the rate of global energy efficiency by 2030.

The updated NDC notes that renewable energy sources made up 44% of the EU's electricity production in 2023, with that figure increasing to 47% in the estimates for 2024.

In addition, the new NDC outlines the EU's accelerating efforts towards making the energy sector predominantly free of fossil fuels "well ahead" of 2050, while recognising the importance of phasing out unabated fossil fuels at global level.

To that end, the EU acknowledges the need to use "all the available technologies" to reduce emissions from hard-to-abate sectors.

While EU members states have agreed the proposal, it will now have to be agreed to by the European Parliament before they come into force.

Green Party reaction

The Green Party in Ireland has reacted to today's agreement by EU member states by saying that it "falls short of expectations".

The party said that the agreement "lacks ambition, clarity and commitment to climate protection".

The Green party claimed the allowance for international carbon credits would see the "shifting of climate protection and investments, potentially worth €100 billion, to countries outside the EU...[this] will result in reduced investment in climate projects within the EU".

Roderic O'Gorman, the party's leader and sole member in the Dáil, said: "While [the agreement] is a step forward, the resulting agreement falls short of our expectations in terms of the clarity of the position they've agreed and the scale of their ambition.

"The outsourcing clause represents a significant watering down of the EU's own climate goals, and there's additional wiggle room for it to be further weakened in the future," O'Gorman added.