Sustainability Briefing — Climate policy, energy transition, reporting and green software
EU negotiators locked in a binding 2040 climate target with built-in flexibilities, even as new data shows small municipalities pushing ahead on adaptation despite thin resources, and a hydro shortfall drove up gas costs and power prices across the bloc. Elsewhere, Amadeus opened up its Carmen carbon-measurement engine, giving organisations a freely available tool for tracking software emissions.
EU agrees binding 2040 target of 90% emissions cut, with flexibilities
The Council presidency and European Parliament negotiators reached a provisional agreement to amend the European Climate Law with a binding 2040 target of a 90% net greenhouse gas reduction versus 1990. The deal adds flexibilities, including a role for high-quality international carbon credits and enhanced flexibility across sectors and instruments.
EEA: Europe's small municipalities show climate ambition but lag on formal plans
An EEA briefing finds many small municipalities—home to over 40% of the EU's population—are already acting on climate risks despite limited financial and human resources and unclear legal responsibilities. Only 16% of small municipalities have adaptation action plans, compared with 28% of larger ones.
Ember: 2025 hydro shortfall lifted EU gas import bill and power prices
Ember reports that gas generation rose about 8% in 2025, largely due to reduced hydro output, pushing the EU power sector's gas import bill to €32 billion, 16% higher than the previous year. It was the first increase in gas import costs for power since the 2022 energy crisis, with average prices during the most gas-intensive hours up 11% across the EU versus 2024.
Green software: Amadeus donates 'Carmen' carbon-measurement engine to GSF
Amadeus transferred its open-source Carmen (Carbon Measurement Engine) to the Green Software Foundation on 31 January 2026, making it freely available to organisations worldwide. Built on the Impact Framework, Carmen produces per-application and per-infrastructure carbon measurements from tools such as Kubernetes and Prometheus, without requiring each team to manually instrument its systems.