Paris Agreement: EU Hikes Climate Target, Submits Massive NDC Update Ahead of COP30
By: Abudu Olalekan
The European Union Council just dropped a major climate bomb. November 5, 2025. They finally approved their updated Nationally Determined Contribution, the NDC. This isn’t just paperwork, this is a heavy-duty commitment. This is the EU’s promise to the planet under the Paris Agreement, detailing exactly how they plan to tackle climate change for the next decade. They are sending it straight to the UN—the UNFCCC—way before COP30 kicks off in Brazil later this month.
This newest NDC builds on the 2020 version and the 2023 update. But this one covers the period all the way up to 2035. This is a massive update.
The EU is showing its work. No messing around. They reiterated the existing goal: achieving a net reduction of 55% in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030. That target has been locked in for a while. The real news? They officially acknowledged the internal agreement reached within the Council for a staggering 90% net emissions reduction by 2040. That is compared to 1990 levels. Huge ambition.
This 90% aspiration is what sets the pace. Based on that, the new NDC introduces an indicative contribution for 2035: somewhere between 66.25% and 72.5% reduction. The ultimate destination remains the same: complete carbon neutrality by 2050.
This updated NDC is built on prior promises. But it’s accelerating the transition. It aims to fast-track the move to a fully decarbonized economy and industry. It outlines the EU’s ongoing, deep efforts to meet those stringent Paris Agreement objectives.
Lars Aagaard, the Danish Minister for Climate, he was pretty happy about the submission. He said submitting this document sends a strong signal before COP30. “We remain fully committed to keeping the goals of the Paris Agreement,” he claimed. It enables us to push for more global climate action when we meet the rest of the world at COP30. The EU is taking its responsibility serious.
The NDC isn’t just targets, though; it is the implementation plan. It recalls the agreement on that challenging 2040 target of 90%. They even mentioned they might utilize an adequate contribution of high-quality international credits—if that option proves both ambitious and cost-efficient. That’s smart policy, being flexible.
The document highlights how the EU continues to lead global efforts, specifically referencing the outcome of the first global stocktake (GST) that happened at COP28 in Dubai. Remember those global promises? Tripling renewable energy capacity globally. Doubling the rate of global energy efficiency by 2030. The EU is pulling its weight right now. Renewable sources made up 44% of EU electricity production in 2023. This year? Estimates say 47%. That’s massive movement in a short time.
They are pushing hard to make the entire energy sector predominantly free of fossil fuels, and they want to hit that milestone well ahead of 2050. They recognize the global need to phase out unabated fossil fuels. To achieve this, the EU says it will embrace every available technology. Every single one. Especially for those difficult, ‘hard-to-abate’ industrial sectors where emissions are tough to manage.
The full NDC includes all the technical information required for Clarity, Transparency, and Understanding (ICTU). Very formal, yes. But necessary for accountability. This updated NDC goes straight to the UNFCCC Secretariat now. It will feed into an updated NDC synthesis report. That report is essentially the global climate action scoreboard. It shows who is doing what and where the biggest gaps are globally, in relation to the Paris Agreement goals. The EU is making sure its score is high before the next big climate meeting in Belém, Brazil. This commitment is their legally required, five-year promise. Reportersroom confirmed the seriousness of this massive undertaking.
