EU Opens Door to International Carbon Credits in Net Zero Plan

‘These carbon credits will have to be verifiable, certifiable and additional,’ said EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra.

Former Netherlands' Foreign Minister and Commissioner-Designate for Climate Action Wopke Hoekstra at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on Oct. 2, 2023. Frederick Florin/AFP via Getty Images

The European Commission has proposed an EU climate target for 2040 that will allow countries to use international carbon credits.

The European Commission on July 2 proposed an amendment to the EU Climate Law, setting a 2040 climate target of a 90 percent reduction in net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 1990 levels.