Climate Action Network Europe

You can download the 2021 Annual Report in PDF here

Download

2021 was the year that put the flesh on the bones of the commitments that the EU set in 2020. To enable the EU’s target of at least 55% net greenhouse gas emission reductions by 2030, current climate and energy laws needed to be revised. This was kicked-off by the European Commission in July 2021 under the umbrella package ‘Fit for 55’.

Throughout the year, CAN Europe and its members relentlessly worked to create a united civil society voice before the European Commission published its proposed legislation. We asked for a higher climate objective aligned with a 1.5°C consistent pathway for the EU: at least -65% emission reductions. These efforts continued after the release of the ‘Fit for 55’ package to impact the legislative process.

As we focused on the updates of the EU climate and energy policies, we simultaneously shone a light on national climate governance instruments, so that EU countries raised their ambition to reflect the enhanced 2030 objectives.

Our work, both public and behind the scenes, was guided by the urgency spelt out in the new IPCC reports: climate change is affecting every corner of our planet, with temperatures rising faster than expected towards catastrophic rates. We witnessed this with the devastating forest fires and floods across Europe in the summer, and in many vulnerable countries in the Global South that are much more exposed.

This was very much on the agenda during the UN Climate Negotiations, COP26. Undoubtedly thanks to the push from civil society, the pressure soared for rich regions to provide finance to developing countries to address the losses and damages from climate change – a topic that was officially included in Glasgow, after a COP gap year.

Our work on a just energy transition picked up speed a year after the outbreak of the COVID-19 and with energy prices skyrocketing like never before. We made a great effort to ensure important recovery funds were prioritising the fight against climate change. In such a sensitive moment, especially for the most vulnerable people, we fiercely advocated for energy savings, renewable energy and against fossil fuels. We pushed back hard against new fossil fuel infrastructure that has no place given the current climate crisis and would have a lock-in effect. It is clearer than ever before that climate, recovery, energy prices and justice are undoubtedly intertwined.

We kept working hard in some key regions, like the Western Balkans and Turkey, to see more ambitious climate commitments. In Turkey, following long advocacy efforts from civil society, the Paris Agreement was ratified and a climate neutrality goal was set.

We didn’t limit ourselves to work exclusively on climate and energy policies. Being aware of how climate action is connected to many other areas of legislation, people and societies, in 2021 we kept strengthening our work on topics like trade, litigation, lifestyles, and production and consumption. We worked in closer cooperation with youth groups,supporting them to make sure they played an active role in decision making processes to fight climate change.