The European Commission claims that the next EU budget should tackle common challenges, including climate change. But unless the EU climate-proofs the entire EU budget, it will continue to prop up fossil gas and contribute to global warming. The ‘EU Toxic Funding Awards’, launched today, unveil the worst EU funding proposals currently in the pipeline of the future budget negotiations.
Organised by Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe in partnership with Friends of the Earth Europe, Food and Water Europe and CEE Bankwatch Network, the ‘EU Toxic Funding Awards’ will raise public awareness on the European Commission’s proposals for fossil fuel funding under the next EU budget. The awards aim to ensure that public money will be used to invest in clean renewables and energy efficiency rather than a fossil fuelled society.
From today to 16 November, the worst proposals for toxic funding in the post-2020 EU budget will be cast to an online public vote. These examples unveil subsidies to fossil gas within four funding programmes: the Cohesion Policy’s Regional Development and Cohesion funds, InvestEU, HorizonEurope and the Connecting Europe Facility.
Wendel Trio, Director of CAN Europe said:
“While Member States and the European Parliament are negotiating the future direction of EU funding, they need to stop the damaging support for fossil fuels that is in the pipeline of the next EU budget. It must be a budget for a sustainable future, and not one that fuels the cause of climate change by propping up fossil fuels.”
“Investing in fossil gas infrastructure will lock European citizens in fossil fuel dependency for the next decades. This obviously stands in contradiction with the need to accelerate the clean energy transition in order to avoid run-away climate change and its huge economic impacts.”
ENDS
Contact:
Nicolas Derobert, CAN Europe Communications Coordinator, nicolas@caneurope.org, +32 483 62 18 88
Notes to editors:
The worst proposals for toxic funding in the post-2020 EU budget are accessible here. You can access the awards visuals here. The results will be announced on Wednesday 21 November.
Here is the timeline of the upcoming negotiations on the next EU budget both in the European Parliament (EP) and the European Council:
- EP: Multiannual Financial Framework interim report vote in BUDG – 5 Nov
- Council: General Affairs Council on MFF – 12 Nov
- EP: Multiannual Financial Framework interim report vote in plenary – 14 Nov
- EP: InvestEU final vote in Budg/Econ – 20 Nov
- EP: final vote HorizonEurope (ITRE) – 21 Nov
- EP: Connecting Europe Facility final vote (TRAN/ITRE) – 22 Nov
- Council: Energy Council on Connecting Europe Facility – 3-4 Dec
- Council: General Affairs Council – 11 Dec
- EP: final vote Cohesion Policy (REGI) – 13 Dec
- European Council: Multiannual Financial Framework – 13 Dec
Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe is Europe’s leading NGO coalition fighting dangerous climate change. With over 150 member organisations from 35 European countries, representing over 1.700 NGOs and more than 40 million citizens, CAN Europe promotes sustainable climate, energy and development policies throughout Europe.
