EU environment Council of Ministers have made climate targets for 2050 mandatory - the bloc's climate neutrality - but has not decided on the more ambitious target set by the European Commission for 2030, Reuters reported.

No country voted "against", but the Bulgarian environment minister abstained, the agency continues.

One week ago at the European Council in Brussels, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov explained that Bulgaria has its concerns about the new proposed climate targets for 2030, but neither rejected this more ambitious proposal from Brussels (which is not among those approved today), nor commented on what are his reservations for the idea of ​​climate neutrality.

 The climate legislation which is working on the EU countries must be the basis for reducing emissions, and it will transform all sectors, from transport to heavy industry but also will require hundreds of billions of euro in investment.

The legislation should also specify the ways in which assessment will be made of the progress in meeting these climate goals.

In September, however, the European Commission proposed new, stricter targets, including reducing emissions not by 40% by 2030 (compared to 1990 levels), as is now accepted, but by 55%. At the European Council, this goal, despite the agreement in principle and the more critical parties under certain conditions, the decision was postponed until the countries have made a national assessment of how the new goal can be achieved.

Today's decision agrees a rule that could persuade countries to support the new 2030 target in December, if it applies to it. It is about the idea that climate neutrality is a requirement for the whole EU bloc (zero emissions in total for the Member States) and not for each individual country.

This requirement, voted on in Luxembourg, suggests that some countries will be able to afford higher emissions if others make deeper cuts. However, this is not getting the approval of the European Parliament, while Sweden, Denmark and Luxembourg also want each country to be obliged to achieve climate neutrality after 30 years./Reuters

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