Is the EU on the retreat on climate?

Is the EU on the retreat on climate?
By Adrien DE CALAN
Brussels, Belgium (AFP) Sept 25, 2025

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen tried to reassure the United Nations Wednesday that Europe "will stay the course" on its climate ambition.

But the bloc's global leadership on green matters is faltering as internal divisions on climate paired with a push to boost defence and industry stall new commitments and endanger existing ones.

Here is where things stand:

- Emission targets -

The EU has committed to a 55-percent cut in emissions by 2030 compared with 1990 levels -- and it is already at nearly 40 percent, well ahead of other major polluters like China and the United States.

But at a UN climate summit this week it was unable to present a formal 2035 plan to further slash greenhouse gases due to disagreements on the level of ambition among its 27 member states.

In the background is a broader squabble on the path towards the EU's stated goal to become carbon-neutral by 2050.

Von der Leyen's commission would like member nations to act quicker by committing to cut emissions by 90 percent by 2040, but some, like Poland and the Czech Republic, say that is unachievable and are dragging their feet.

- Combustion engine ban -

Plans to end combustion-engine vehicle sales by 2035 -- perhaps the most emblematic measure under the European Green Deal that defined von der Leyen's first term -- are increasingly under pressure from carmakers.

Faced with competition from China, US tariffs and a stuttering shift to electric vehicles (EVs), the powerful auto industry has been clamouring for a rethink.

The sector, which employs 13 million people and accounts for about seven percent of Europe's GDP, scored a first win earlier this year, as Brussels allowed producers more time to meet a first emission reduction target.

And this month the commission pledged to fast-track to December a review of its 2035 plans initially scheduled for next year. Discussions on the topic in the European Parliament are "tense", said an official.

- Anti-deforestation rules -

The commission said this week it will seek a new one-year delay to an already-postponed ban on imports of products derived from deforestation -- itself a driver of climate change.

Cheered by environmental groups, the rules prohibit a vast range of goods -- from coffee to cocoa, soy, timber, palm oil, cattle, printing paper and rubber -- if produced using land that was deforested after December 2020.

They have however been assailed by key trading partners and businesses lamenting excessive red tape.

The commission invoked IT issues to justify the need for a second 12-month postponement.

But environmentalists fear the delay will provide room for critics to water down the bill's requirements.

Centrist EU lawmaker Pascal Canfin denounced the latest push as "lamentable", adding he was "far from convinced" that technical problems were the real issue.

A separate bill on forest monitoring was voted down by EU lawmakers this week.

- Other doubts -

The commission said in June it intended to scrap new rules against greenwashing that would compel businesses to submit evidence for environmental claims.

It is currently in limbo with talks between member states and lawmakers yet to yield any result, while disagreements persist on whether small firms should be covered.

Commission sources have meanwhile said the bill is increasingly seen as unnecessary since other laws on unfair commercial practices and misleading advertising already cover the matter.

Another set of landmark new rules facing the chop is a law on corporate sustainability, mandating firms to clean up their supply chains of environmental and human rights violations.

France and Germany have led a frontal assault on the legislation, deeming it too onerous for businesses.

With the EU's two largest economies demanding that it be binned, its future is in serious doubt.

Regardless, the commission denies having put environmental issues on the back burner.

To say that von der Leyen has turned her back on the European Green Deal "does not hold water", said Philippe Lamberts, an ex-leader of the Greens now advising the commission president.

However he conceded "the political balance has shifted" since the 2024 European elections, which were marked by far-right gains, noting that the path to building majorities was now narrower.