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Chimney at a Spanish power plant
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The EU Commission wants to present an interim target for its goal of climate neutrality by 2050 at the beginning of February.
A corresponding report from the Reuters news agency, according to which emissions of climate-damaging gases should be reduced by 90 percent by 2040 compared to 1990, was confirmed to SPIEGEL.
The Commission would thus roughly follow the recommendations of climate researchers who officially advised the EU and recommended a minus of 90 to 95 percent.
On Thursday they called on the EU not to let up in the fight against climate change.
The countries in the community are aiming for so-called net zero emissions by 2050.
This climate neutrality means that at most as much greenhouse gas is released into the atmosphere as is taken out of the atmosphere at the same time.
In order to achieve this goal, the first step is a reduction of 55 percent by 2030.
The EU is currently working on the 2040 target. According to insiders, the 90 percent target will be presented on February 6th.
Before the European elections in June, the milestone is a test of how much support there is for the climate goals in the community.
According to insiders, when presenting the goals, the Commission wants to point out the rising costs of climate damage in Europe and the benefits of reducing CO2 - including less spending on importing fossil fuels.
Reference should also be made to plans on how the various industrial sectors could be helped to achieve the interim target of 2040.
fek/mbe/Reuters