In 2009 December in Copenhagen the European Union made great efforts to reach an agreement with other participating countries on the post-Kyoto obligations to curb greenhouse gas emissions. The EU carried on with the negotiations knowing that it had already decided on its own target – a 20% reduction by 2020 – with which its member states have to comply. Moreover, the European Council had already adopted an emission reduction target for 2050, taking into consideration the expert consensus according to which the risk of a dangerous level of climate change can be avoided only if the average surface temperature does not rise more than 2 Celsius degrees above pre-industrial levels. This requires that developed countries reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 80–95% compared to 1990 levels. Our article assesses the possibilities of this reduction.