The European Union clinched a deal in the early hours of Wednesday on a climate change law that commits the bloc to more than halving its net greenhouse gas emissions by the end of the decade.
The deal arrives just in time for a summit of world leaders hosted by the U.S. government where the EU and other global powers will promote their pledges to protect the planet.
The European climate law sets the framework that will guide EU climate-related regulations in the coming decades, steering it towards reaching zero net emissions by 2050. That is a pathway which, if adopted globally, would limit global temperature increases to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels and avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
After months of wrangling and a full night of negotiations on Tuesday, negotiators representing the European Parliament and the 27 EU governments finished the law. The deal still needs formal approval from parliament and national governments.
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