EU clinches climate deal ahead of Biden summit

The European Union reached a tentative climate deal that should make the 27-nation bloc climate-neutral by 2050, with member states and parliament agreeing on the targets on the eve of a virtual summit that US President Biden will host.

"Our political commitment to becoming the first climate neutral continent by 2050 is now also a legal commitment. The Climate Law sets the EU on a green path for a generation," said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen early on Wednesday.

Under the provisional deal reached after officials negotiated through the night, the EU commits itself on an intermediate target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.

"It was high time for the agreement, as Europe has to show where it stands in view of the positive developments in the USA and China," said MEP Peter Liese, the negotiator for the EPP Christian Democrat group.

The US, the world's secondbiggest polluter after China, is preparing to announce its new target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

The deal still needs to be officially approved by the member states and the legislature, but Wednesday's agreement should make that little more than a rubber stamp.

Aus plans $417 mn spend on hydrogen, carbon capture

Australia’s PM has proposed spending an extra Australian $539 million ($417 million) on hydrogen and carbon sequestration projects, seeking to burnish his government's green credentials ahead of a climate summit to be hosted by President Joe Biden. PM Scott Morrison said the money would be spent on building new hydrogen-producing hubs and carbon capture technologies would create over 2,500 jobs, cutting greenhouse gas emissions.