Posted on September, 18 2025
Ten years after the Paris Agreement, France is now among those holding back climate action. Instead of adopting a 2040 climate target the issue is being kicked down the road to the European Council meeting in late October.
The discussion is now framed around the flexibilities and to what extent Member States can weaken the 2040 target, especially through the inclusion of international credits or ‘offsets’. WWF has long maintained that emissions must be cut domestically, and that relying on international credits, most of which have proved to be unreliable, is a waste of money that could be spent at home.
“The European Commission must have known that by including 3% of international offsets, it was opening a Pandora’s box and that Member States would demand more. It seems that some Member States would rather spend taxpayers’ money paying third countries to cut emissions than invest in their own economy,” said Michael Sicaud-Clyet, Climate Policy Officer at WWF EU.
NDC: Intentions declared, solutions postponed
Because the Council failed to agree on the 2040 target, it will most likely miss the UN deadline (30 September) to submit a clear 2035 emissions reduction target as part of the EU’s National Determined Contribution (NDC), the EU’s official climate pledge under the Paris Agreement. Instead, Ministers issued only a “statement of intent”, with a reduction range of 66.25–72.5%.
The EU’s delay in setting new climate ambition risks undermining its credibility on the world stage. With major emitting countries closely monitoring the EU’s leadership, hesitation now could weaken the ambition of other countries ahead of COP30.
“This statement of intent is Olympic-level diplomatic gymnastics, a performance designed to avoid the embarrassment of arriving at COP empty-handed. However, when it comes to climate ambition, the EU shouldn’t just be competing, it should be setting the bar high. With so many countries looking to Europe to decide on their own NDCs, this was a missed opportunity for the EU to raise the bar and inspire others to follow,” said Shirley Matheson, Global NDC Enhancement Coordinator at WWF.
Meanwhile climate change is not waiting. A new scientific study just this week exposed that the climate crisis is already hitting Europe hard as the fastest warming continent. Heat waves this past summer caused 16,500 preventable deaths and cost the European economy €43 billion.
“The cost of inaction is huge. European citizens and businesses won’t be impressed with these political games; they want to know they’ll be safe from extreme weather and that business investments have a secure future. EU leaders need to stop the internal fighting and get their act together by adopting an NDC before the UN deadline,” concluded Michael Sicaud-Clyet, Climate Policy Officer at WWF EU.
