European Union leaders are set to give political backing to a new 2040 climate target while instructing the European Commission to strengthen measures that help heavy industry and consumers manage the transition, according to draft conclusions for the European Council meeting on 23–24 October.
The draft, dated 13 October, says leaders would let EU countries and the European Parliament proceed to set the target, while calling for an “enabling framework” focused on competitiveness and resilience. Particular attention is flagged for automotive, shipping, aviation and energy-intensive sectors including steel, metals and chemicals.
The document follows an earlier missed UN deadline to submit the EU’s updated climate targets, after France, Poland and other states sought a leaders’ debate on the 2040 goal and on how to finance decarbonisation alongside defence and re-industrialisation priorities. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said the EU intends to finalise new 2035 and 2040 targets before the COP30 climate summit in Belém, Brazil, in November. COP30 runs from 10 to 21 November.
While the draft conclusions stop short of prescribing specific funding lines or policy changes, diplomats indicate that some governments want adjustments to the EU’s carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), the bloc’s carbon tariff on emissions-intensive imports. Others are pressing to revisit elements of the 2035 phase-out of new combustion-engine cars. The draft also states that the EU should meet climate aims “in a technologically neutral manner”, language often used by governments that oppose hard bans on particular technologies.
CBAM itself has been under review during its transitional phase. Over recent months, EU institutions have advanced simplification measures that would exempt many small importers while keeping coverage of the vast majority of embedded emissions in key sectors. Council and Parliament signalled support for a lighter administrative regime earlier this year, and Parliament adopted further streamlining in September. Any broader redesign, as urged by some capitals, would require fresh political agreement.
On road transport, debate has sharpened. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said last week he would “do everything” to avoid a hard cut-off in 2035 for sales of CO₂-emitting cars, underscoring competing views within member states over the pace and design of the transition. Berlin is consulting with carmakers ahead of an expected Commission review.
If leaders endorse the conclusions next week, environment ministers plan to convene on 4 November for an extraordinary session to formalise the 2040 target and advance the EU’s updated nationally determined contribution ahead of COP30. The Danish EU Council Presidency has trailed that date, following a September meeting at which ministers held a policy debate but did not reach consensus.
The Commission has previously outlined a 90% net greenhouse-gas reduction by 2040, compared with 1990 levels, as a step towards climate neutrality by 2050 under the EU Climate Law. Member states remain divided over the level and the tools, with some advocating limited use of international carbon credits and others opposing flexibilities. Several governments argue that any new target must be paired with measures to contain costs, protect strategic industries and accelerate deployment of enabling infrastructure.
Industry support is likely to centre on three areas. First, capital expenditure and permitting for clean technologies and grid upgrades, which remain bottlenecks across multiple sectors. Second, trade measures including CBAM implementation and export-leakage safeguards, where companies seek predictability and simpler compliance. Third, consumer-facing incentives and infrastructure, notably for electric vehicles and charging, where gaps vary widely between member states. These themes echo requests from both industrial groups and several national governments in the run-up to the summit.
Climate-policy advocates, for their part, have urged leaders to adopt an ambitious domestic 2040 target aligned with a 1.5°C pathway and to resist weakening existing files. Civil-society letters ahead of the October summit call for clarity and timeliness to restore EU credibility after the missed UN deadline. Lawmakers in Parliament have also pressed the Council to adopt the bloc’s updated climate pledges “as soon as possible” before COP30.
Next week’s European Council is expected to give high-level political guidance rather than legislate. Any agreed conclusions would set parameters for negotiations between member states and the Parliament on the legal text that amends the EU Climate Law to insert the 2040 target. The outcome will also shape sectoral files due for review, including vehicle CO₂ standards, industrial decarbonisation tools, and support schemes that form part of the bloc’s broader competitiveness agenda.
EU prepares anti-circumvention measures for carbon border levy
Click here for more News & Current Affairs at EU Today
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
