“Leaked Draft Reveals EU Deadlock on Climate Targets Ahead of Cop30”

EU member states remain deeply divided over new climate commitments, with just weeks left before a UN deadline, according to a leaked draft text seen by The Guardian.

The document, which leaves key emissions targets blank, highlights ongoing disputes between the European Commission and member states over how steep greenhouse gas reductions should be. Experts warn the lack of figures at this late stage signals serious risk to the bloc’s ability to deliver a strong pledge.

Niklas Höhne of the New Climate Institute called the situation “extremely urgent,” noting that only 28 of 196 countries have submitted new climate targets, and that an ambitious EU target could drive momentum globally.

Under the Paris Agreement, countries must file updated national emissions plans (NDCs). The EU’s current 2030 goal is a 55% cut compared with 1990 levels. Scientists say that to reach net zero by 2050, the bloc’s 2035 target should imply cuts of roughly 74–78%, with a 2040 target of 90–95%. But the leaked text contains no firm numbers.

Disputes over sequencing—whether to set a 2040 target first or commit to a 2035 NDC—are further delaying progress. Leaders including France’s Emmanuel Macron and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni have expressed reservations about ambitious climate policies, while Hungary’s Viktor Orbán is expected to resist strong targets outright.

Campaigners warn that any delay or dilution would weaken the EU’s credibility at Cop30 in Brazil this November, especially amid U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement under Donald Trump and pushback from oil producers like Russia and Saudi Arabia.

Andreas Sieber of 350.org said: “Macron and rightwing anti-Europeans like Orbán and Meloni are playing a reckless political game. The delays contradict the urgency of climate action, undermine Europe’s global leadership, and betray the commitments the world is counting on.”

The European Commission declined to comment on the leaked draft.