After arduous late night talks on Wednesday, European Union countries finally agreed a 2040 goal to cut the bloc’s emissions by 90% from 1990 levels, including a contentious concession that would let them buy foreign carbon credits to cover 5%.
Under the deal, which must be approved by the European Parliament, the EU stands to buy 710 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) offsets worth about 50 billion euros ($57 billion) during the 2030s, according to an estimate by the Carbon Market Watch campaign group. That could give a huge boost to carbon credits from emissions-reduction projects, which are struggling with shrinking demand amid increased scrutiny of the sector.
Trishant Dev, carbon markets lead at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a Delhi-based think-tank, told Climate Home News that 5% “may seem small compared to the EU’s overall emissions cuts, but in absolute terms it represents a vast volume of offsets, and therefore, massive investments in offset projects”.
On top of the 5% of the EU’s 1990-level net emissions, EU countries may be able to use offsets to cancel out another 5% of their national emissions, increasing the bloc’s wiggle room on meeting its headline climate goals and drawing criticism from some climate campaigners.
Countries split on counting carbon credits
The possibility of using carbon credits was supported by the European Commission and numerous member states including Sweden, Ireland, Poland and Austria.
Poland had pushed for 10% to be eligible for carbon credits, after one senior climate official hailed them in September as “a cost-efficient measure to cut emissions.”
The Netherlands’ representative, meanwhile, opposed using more than 3%, saying that “availability, price and quality remain uncertain”. International credits should just be a “safety net”, he said.
Slovakia’s environment minister also voiced concern about cost, saying the use of credits “may sound attractive but, with an estimated price…about €250 ($288) a tonne, this will not work for all of us”.
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Several other wealthy nations – such as Norway, Switzerland and Singapore – have already said they intend to use or may use some carbon credits to meet their 2035 climate targets.
But Japan is the only major emitter that has specified how much it wants to buy – 200 million metric tonnes of CO2e by 2040, which at Carbon Market Watch’s assumed price of $70 a ton, would cost $14 billion.
Many countries – particularly in the Global South – have indicated their interest in selling credits. Thailand, for example, has already sold credits to Switzerland in return for rolling out electric buses in Bangkok, although the integrity of that deal has been questioned.
Critics say EU should reduce emissions at home
While EU officials and carbon market supporters defended the bloc’s policy shift on offsets, climate campaigners were mostly critical.
They said credits are expensive and will not reduce emissions by as much as they are supposed to, accusing the EU of dodging its responsibility as a historically large polluter to reduce the bloc’s emissions domestically.
Fabiola de Simone, policy officer at Carbon Market Watch, told Climate Home News the EU’s climate target and the offsets were an “international embarrassment” for the EU which will mean “way more emissions than science says you should do”.
Zimbabwe forest carbon megaproject generated millions of junk credits
“There is less of an incentive for member states to reach their national obligations after 2030 because they know that they could potentially rely on international credits up to 5%,” de Simone said.
Pedro Martins Barata, who works on carbon market integrity for the Environmental Defense Fund, called the flexibility in the EU’s target “disappointing”.
But, he said, the EU could use its clout as a dominant buyer to promote high standards for credits, such as environmental safeguards in offset methodologies.
“Planet doesn’t care where we cut emissions”
Carbon market advocates say it does not matter where in the world emissions reductions take place, that reducing emissions with offsets can be cheaper than cutting them directly and that developing countries can benefit from the money and other support they receive by selling credits.
“The planet doesn’t care where we reduce emissions,” EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra told a press conference on Wednesday, adding that the 5% quota for offsets was optional.
Ukrainian scientist Olga Gassan-Zade, a member of the supervisory body of the Paris Agreement’s new Article 6.4 carbon market, told Climate Home News that without demand for credits – like that coming from the EU – international carbon markets would fail.
That would be bad, she said, because “it is maybe hard to see from the Global North, but the developing world lives in a different dimension”. “International markets are not just about finance but are also about technology transfer, knowledge transfer, training of climate change professionals [and] equity,” she added.
From Delhi, CSE’s Dev said carbon markets have often enriched intermediaries rather than supporting genuine emissions cuts. “These funds must therefore cover the true cost of mitigation, ensuring that communities are not short-changed or made to subsidise Europe’s continued emissions,” he said.
The post EU’s new climate target lines up multibillion-dollar boost for carbon markets appeared first on Climate Home News.
EU’s new climate target lines up multibillion-dollar boost for carbon markets
Climate Change
Nearly 100 civil society groups from Türkiye and Australia urge COP31 Presidency to take bold steps to transition away from fossil fuels
Bonn, Germany, Friday 12 June 2026 — A diverse coalition of almost 100 civil society organisations representing Türkiye and Australia have released a joint statement at the Bonn climate conference urging the COP31 Presidency put the transition away from fossil fuels at the centre of the COP31 agenda.
The statement, signed by 94 organisations and addressed to Minister Murat Kurum (Türkiye) and Minister Chris Bowen (Australia), both attending the Bonn Climate Change Conference this week, emphasises that close cooperation between Türkiye and Australia brings a historic opportunity to make international progress in the transition away from fossil fuels, while walking the talk domestically and paving the way to a clean future within their respective borders.
By combining the diplomatic reach of both host nations with the long-standing climate leadership of the Pacific, COP31 should champion the action required to limit warming to 1.5°C.
The statement calls on the COP31 Presidency to:
- Commit to own and advance the just, orderly and equitable transition away from fossil fuels.
- Turn the Just Transition Mechanism – agreed upon at COP30 to enhance international cooperation as well as support and enable equitable and inclusive just transitions – into concrete actions through defined funding, clear timelines, and practical operational details that protect workers and vulnerable communities.
- Enable meaningful progress in international climate finance to advance all pillars of climate action on mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage, ensuring that “big polluters pay”.
- Rebuild trust in the multilateral process by having a Presidency team that acts as an ‘honest broker.’ This includes protecting the integrity of negotiations from fossil fuel industry influence, which has had a worrying record presence in the last few COPs, and ensuring the full participation of civil society, Indigenous Peoples, women, youth, local communities, and upholding human rights.
The letter also urges Türkiye and Australia to inspire strong global outcomes in negotiations in Antalya in November, by leading by example, developing national roadmaps to transition away from fossil fuels and taking bold decisions domestically.
Shiva Gounden, Head of Pacific, Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said: “The Pacific is at the forefront of global efforts to transition away from fossil fuels. From the beginning, we have worked to advance multilateral cooperation and strengthen the global climate regime — writing the 1.5°C redline into the Paris Agreement, establishing funding for loss and damage, and taking the world’s biggest problem to the world’s highest court. To the COP31 partnership, we bring the experience of 30 years of frontline leadership, the values of reciprocity and collective responsibility, and the warm hearts and unending resolve of our communities. We will continue to be the voice of science, justice and ambition. For us, phasing out fossil fuels and holding the line on 1.5°C is about survival. Together, we can ensure a safer, thriving future for the peoples of the Pacific and for communities worldwide.”
Tanyeli Behiç Sabuncu, WWF-Türkiye Climate and Energy Practice Manager, said: “As the President of COP31, Türkiye should not postpone leaving coal. One-third of the electricity mix in the country comes from it and new coal-fired power plant units are still being planned, despite losing both its economic and social licence. Phasing out fossil fuels is not merely an emission reduction goal. It is also a pathway toward a liveable world for people and nature as well as energy security for consumers and businesses. COP31 presents Türkiye a defining choice: stick to the choices of the past or lead a transformative shift toward a just and clean energy future. Announcing a coal phase-out date would send the clearest initial signal that the country takes its leadership role at COP seriously.
Denise Cauchi, CEO Climate Action Network Australia, said: “The fossil fuel era is ending. The escalating energy crisis is exposing the true costs of fossil fuel dependence—not only through worsening climate impacts, but also through global insecurity, energy price shocks and rising living costs. As the incoming President and President of Negotiations, Türkiye and Australia must put the 1.5°C temperature goal at the heart of COP31, which requires a managed, equitable transition away from coal, oil and gas, backed by finance and supported by a just transition. Australia must lead with credibility. As the world’s third-largest fossil fuel exporter, it needs a clear plan to phase out fossil fuels, including exports, and contribute its fair share of international climate finance.”
ENDS
Photos from the press conference will be added here after the event. The press conference will be live streamed and archived here
Media contact:
Kate O’Callaghan, Greenpeace on +61 406 231 892 (Whatsapp/Signal) or kate.ocallaghan@greenpeace.org
Climate Change
‘A new chapter’: Inaugural National EPA CEO John Bradley faces significant choices on the horizon
SYDNEY, Friday 12 June 2026 — In response to the appointment of the inaugural CEO of Australia’s first National Environmental Protection Agency (National EPA), the following can be attributed to Glenn Walker, Head of Nature at Greenpeace Australia Pacific:
“Greenpeace welcomes the appointment of the inaugural CEO of Australia’s first National EPA as the beginning of a new chapter in the conservation of our world-famous nature.
“Now is a time of environmental crossroads — the inaugural National EPA under new CEO John Bradley’s leadership has a duty to provide robust environmental protection advice to the Albanese Government, and can start by protecting Scott Reef and the World Heritage Great Barrier Reef.
“Mr Bradley has the important task ahead of leading the National EPA’s recommendation on Australia’s largest proposed fossil fuel project, Woodside’s toxic Browse project in Western Australia. Browse threatens Australia’s largest freestanding reef, Scott Reef, and our climate, and must be rejected by any agency concerned with protecting the environment.
“Mr Bradley must also use his new position to crack down on rampant deforestation, which is threatening the Great Barrier Reef and sending our native animals, like the koala, to the brink of extinction in Queensland and New South Wales. As a former head of Queensland’s state environment department, Mr Bradley understands the threat of deforestation, and has a unique opportunity to finally protect the Reef from that threat.”
—ENDS—
Images and videos of deforestation can be found here, and of Scott Reef here.
For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact Emma Sangalli on 0431 513 465 or emma.sangalli@greenpeace.org
‘A new chapter’: Inaugural National EPA CEO John Bradley faces significant choices on the horizon
China’s power-sector emissions fell in 2025 for the first time in a decade, but a rebound in coal-fired generation raises doubts about whether the decline will last.
China’s coal power output rose in early 2026, fueling concerns that last year’s drop in power-sector emissions may be temporary despite record growth in renewable energy.
Despite Record Renewable Growth, China Is Still Betting on Coal
Nearly 100 civil society groups from Türkiye and Australia urge COP31 Presidency to take bold steps to transition away from fossil fuels
‘A new chapter’: Inaugural National EPA CEO John Bradley faces significant choices on the horizon
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