Everybody loves a good design. As the EU prepares national targets for 2040, we will see whether they are designed for real-world climate impact – or just for a clean look hiding messy emissions.

In our fresh-off-the-press position paper, Carbon Market Watch sets out what the European Commission needs to keep in mind when designing its proposal:

• Separate targets: emission reductions, land-based removals, and permanent removals must each have distinct, binding targets.
• End harmful flexibilities: Current rules allow countries to offset emissions with temporary land-based removals, weakening real climate action.
• Prioritise domestic action: The 2040 target should be delivered through at least 90% domestic emission reductions, not international offsets.
• Fix carbon removal rules: The Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming framework needs much stronger quality standards before it can play any meaningful role.
• Create a new pillar: Introduce separate, binding targets for permanent removals to address residual emissions without delaying decarbonisation.