The four years that revolutionised EU climate policy

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As the EU slowly shifts focus from the maelstrom of policymaking to the upcoming elections – and I find myself in my last week covering it all for Euractiv – it seems a good time to reflect on how much of the Green Deal has actually been achieved.

Like hikers who’ve huffed and puffed their way up a mountain, looking back at where we started reveals just how far we’ve come. At the same time, looking up the mountain, we realise there’s a long way left to go.

Since the publication of the European Green Deal in December 2019, the EU has put its foot to the floor (presumably of an electric car) on its energy, climate and environmental laws.

The Green Deal not only set out new, more ambitious climate targets for the EU to reach by 2030 and 2050 – ultimately leading to climate neutrality by mid-century – it also put in place a detailed policy framework for implementing them.

Remarkably, most of this was achieved despite strong headwinds – first, a pandemic in 2020, then a war at Europe’s borders in 2022, both of which caused major economic turbulence and threatened to sink the Green Deal.

Yet, those unpredictable global crises failed to drown the Green Deal and even buoyed it to further success, prompting the EU to double down on its climate objectives, drop its addiction to Russian fossil fuels and accelerate its transition to clean energy.

The world’s state of “permacrisis” became the Green Deal’s crucible, creating a hostile environment that honed legislation quicker than we could have imagined. Far from driving down ambition, it put the need for energy sovereignty and tackling the climate crisis in the spotlight.

You can see this across the board, from increased renewable and energy efficiency targets to the EU upping its ambition (at least informally) to a 57% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

The speed at which the EU has worked is also impressive. In just three years covering energy and environment policy for Euractiv, I’ve witnessed the creation of the EU’s Climate Law, the ‘Fit for 55’ climate package proposed and mostly agreed, and Europe surviving an energy crisis triggered by Russia’s war in Ukraine.

I was woken at ungodly hours by text messages telling me that a deal had been found on the world’s first carbon border levy and that a world-first law had been agreed to tackle deforestation in the EU and beyond.

But, of course, you can’t miss the areas in which the EU is struggling. For instance, one of the first articles I wrote for Euractiv in October 2020 focused on the problems faced by the wind industry.

It included this paragraph from the wind industry association: “WindEurope has previously pointed out these issues, highlighting three steps needed to improve wind power in the EU: bringing in better-planned auctions, improving electrification and simplifying permits and planning.”

I could write exactly the same thing today.

Similarly, other questions continue to pop up repeatedly and are yet to be properly answered.

The question of how nuclear fits into the green transition is one example, with tensions flaring up in fights over its inclusion in the EU’s taxonomy for sustainable investments, in the Renewable Energy Directive and, more recently, in the Net-Zero Industry Act.

On a global level, the question of climate finance also refuses to go away, with the world consistently failing to reach its pledge of $100 billion of climate finance a year by 2020 and discussions now starting on a post-2025 goal.

There are also clear gaps in Europe’s legislation. One of the first stories I covered for Euractiv was the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, something that has since fallen by the wayside.

Looking back, it’s undeniable that energy and climate policy have massively outpaced environment policy, with laws on the latter being delayed and snagged up in wider political games.

To name just two, the Nature Restoration Law and Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation have repeatedly been caught up in political eddies.

Energy and climate laws, too, were affected. Legislation like the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive has taken hits and some laws could have been more ambitious, with the final agreements often including lower targets than were first proposed.

Yet, for all the criticism you could level at the Green Deal, it’s hard to deny the EU shifted gears in the last few years.

Speaking to Euractiv in a recent interview, Spanish vice-president and minister for the ecological transition, Teresa Ribera, reflected on this.

“Yes, of course, we would have liked many other things [to be agreed at EU level]. But in fact, the large share of things we intended to do are there. And, in addition, we have built new tools, new instruments to deal together with the challenges,” she said.

“This is the mandate where we had to handle a world pandemic, a war next to our border – two wars next to our borders. And I think that Europe has managed quickly, ensuring effectiveness, unanimity, consensual measures, flexibility, and solidarity among member states. I think that it is quite impressive the type of responses that we have been able to craft,” she added.

Time will tell whether all of this is ambitious or quick enough. To make sure targets aren’t missed, Europe must keep its foot on the gas, particularly when it comes to implementing the agreed legislation and setting new intermediary climate targets for 2040.

As the world heats up and Europe’s energy security remains in doubt, it is all the more important to keep pushing ahead. So I guess all I can say as I leave Euractiv and we all look ahead to the next phase of the Green Deal is “bonne chance et bon courage” – we’re going to need it.

– Kira Taylor

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BERLIN. Experts warn against investment cuts after German top court ruling. As Germany scrambles to find €60 billion after the constitutional court ruled that transferring unused COVID-related debt to a climate fund was against the constitution, economists warned that spending cuts could cost the country economic growth in the coming years following a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday. Read more.

LISBON. Portugal urged to reduce energy support measures. Portugal must reduce energy support measures as soon as possible this year and next, according to a European Commission report published on Tuesday, highlighting Portugal’s limited progress in implementing the Commission’s budgetary recommendation. Read more.

BUCHAREST. EU Commission approves new version of Romania’s recovery plan. The European Commission on Tuesday approved Romania’s revised Recovery and Resilience Plan, which places greater emphasis on the green transition and reduces funding for certain hospital construction projects. Read more.

VIENNA. Austria’s ‘sticky’ climate activists draw ire of leaders as 57 arrested. Leading politicians have sharply criticised the Last Generation climate action group for their large-scale protest on Austrian motorways, which resulted in 57 arrests. Read more.

BERLIN. German far-left’s top EU candidate vows to fight ‘climate apartheid’. Migration activist Carola Rackete has vowed to fight “climate apartheid” after the far-left Die Linke party formally selected her and GUE/NGL leader Martin Schirdewan on Saturday to be the party’s top candidates alongside MEP Özlem Demirel in next year’s EU elections. Read more.

SOFIA. Bulgarian government doubts it will collect gas taxes from Putin. The government has decided to withdraw the estimated revenue of €1.2 billion from the new tax on the transfer of Russian gas from the state budget 2024 because the ruling majority doubts that the money can be obtained, Finance Minister Asen Vasilev said on Sunday. Read more.

BERLIN. Use of €60bn COVID debt for climate fund is unlawful, German top court rules. Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court ruled on Wednesday (15 November) that the German parliament’s 2022 decision to pour €60 billion from the unused debt contracted during the COVID-19 crisis into a new climate fund was unlawful. Read more. 

WARSAW. Poland on track to receiving funds from modified recovery plan. The European Commission is to approve Poland’s revised recovery plan regarding the REPowerEU initiative, for which in August Poland applied for €2.76 billion in grants and €23 billion in low-interest loans, media reported on Wednesday. Read more.

• EU’s 35 bcm target for biomethane ‘unrealistic’, campaigners say – By Frédéric Simon
• Lithium mine project draws hope, anxiety in French region hit by deindustrialisation – By Nathan Canas
• Germany’s next big fight coming up: Berlin’s frantic search for €60 billion – By Jonathan Packroff
• Shipowners challenge green fuels’ inclusion in truck CO2 standards – By Sean Goulding Carroll
• Brussels readies ‘trade instruments’ to protect EU’s struggling wind industry – By Nikolaus J. Kurmayer
• EU strikes deal on new ‘ecocide’ rules to put polluters in jail – By Nikolaus J. Kurmayer
• Deal on new EU rules to tackle electricity market manipulation – By Frédéric Simon

• Cleantech divide looms in Europe – By Ciarán Humphreys
• Draining Putin’s war chest – By Andrii Zhupanyn and Anton Hofreiter
• For a real ban on electricity disconnections – By Sarah Coupechoux and various authors
• The Western Balkans’ crucial role in climate neutrality – By Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield and Viola von Cramon-Taubadel.
• Will EU’s buildings directive bring benefits for low-income households? – By Louise Sunderland

• 22 NOVEMBER. Parliament vote on packaging and packaging waste regulation (PPWR)
• 29 NOVEMBER. Commission proposals:
  • Passenger mobility package: Communications on common European mobility data space, Revision of package travel, Review of passengers’ rights framework
  • Action plan to facilitate grids roll-out
• 30 NOVEMBER-12 DECEMBER. UN Climate Change Conference (COP 28), Dubai
• 6 DECEMBER. Commission proposal on Protection of animals during transport
• 7 DECEMBER. Final trilogue (tbc) on Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD)
• 11 DECEMBER. Parliament plenary vote on small modular reactors
• 14-15 DECEMBER. European Council
• 18 DECEMBER. Environment Council
• 19 DECEMBER. Energy Council
• 2024 – Q1. Commission proposals:
  • Communication on carbon storage technologies
  • 2040 Climate target communication
  • Communication on water resilience
  • Communication on advanced materials for industrial leadership
• 15 JANUARY. Parliament plenary votes:
  • European Hydrogen Bank
  • Geothermal energy
• MARCH 2024. Parliament plenary votes:
  • Directive on waste
  • ‘Green claims’ directive, protecting consumers from greenwashing
• 22-25 APRIL. Last European Parliament plenary session before the European elections
  • Circularity requirements for vehicle design and on management of end-of-life vehicles
• SPRING 2024. First European Climate Risk Assessment
• 6-9 JUNE: European elections

Edited by Alice Taylor and Frédéric Simon. Interested in more energy and environment news delivered to your inbox? You can subscribe to our daily newsletter and to our comprehensive weekly update here.

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