85% of EU citizens consider climate a problem, but what about the Green Deal?

At the same time, there is a growing demand from member states to make the zero-emission target more flexible. This explains the two-month delay in the tabling of the amendment to the Climate Act, due to the intense political debate that accompanied its finalisation.

The proposal, put forward by the Commission last week, sets an EU emissions reduction target for 2040: -90% compared to 1990 levels. An expected target, but accompanied by a series of new flexibility clauses and legal loopholes designed to facilitate its approval.

Approval, however, remains far from a foregone conclusion in both the Council (by qualified majority) and the European Parliament (by simple majority).

Among the innovations that will be most discussed is the possibility for Member States to use international carbon credits, financing climate projects in third countries, provided they meet high standards, and counting the related emission reductions in their national targets. This externalisation of efforts is complemented by the possibility of offsetting a shortfall in emission reductions in one economic sector with an outperformance in other sectors.

It is clear that the Commission is adopting a more pragmatic approach, attentive to national specificities. A choice long called for by several governments, but one that exposes Europe's climate ambitions to increased politicisation and fragmentation, with the real risk of their downsizing.

Not surprisingly, therefore, the proposal was met with strong criticism from environmental associations. Even within the Commission, there was no lack of dissenting voices: the Vice-President in charge of Green Transition, Teresa Ribera, spoke openly of 'political cowardice' and warned that 'the EU's climate credibility is at stake'.

In conclusion, as new extreme temperature records continue to be set across Europe, the political climate around the European Green Deal is also becoming increasingly heated.