A new report is warning about the risk of a European Union proposal to let member nations fund international climate projects to account for some of their emissions reductions to help the bloc meet its ambitious climate goals.
Öko-Institut, a Germany-based nonprofit environmental research group, in a Friday report challenged parts of a new proposal from the Council of the European Union, a governing body that helps establish policy for the EU’s 27 member nations.
The council, in an effort to add “flexibility” to its climate goals, is proposing that international credits account for up to 5 percent of the emissions reductions the European Union aims to achieve by 2040. The EU is working to reduce carbon emissions by 2040 to 90 percent below their level in 1990.
The proposal would be a significant shift away from current EU policy that bars member nations from using international carbon credits to meet emissions targets each country has set as members of the Paris climate agreement.
