All European countries must submit to the European Commission progress reports on the implementation of their National Energy and Climate Plans by 15 March 2025. This deadline is an opportunity to evaluate where we stand in terms of implementation and identify the next steps needed to accelerate the transition toward net-zero.
National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) are roadmaps that outline how European countries will meet the EU’s 2030 climate and energy targets. The Commission monitors the EU’s overall advancement toward these objectives. If fully and timely implemented, these plans have the potential to unlock at least €1 trillion in green transition benefits by 2030 – with the condition that countries raise their ambition to meet the Paris Agreement objectives.
Yet many countries seem to be overlooking the opportunities that NECPs can offer. The first round of climate roadmaps was due by the end of 2019, and – following the EU’s “Fit for 55” climate package with elevated targets – updated plans were to be submitted by June 2024. However, most of the Member States missed this deadline, and Belgium, Croatia, Estonia, Poland, and Slovakia’s submissions are still pending.
This delay has pushed back the Commission’s overall assessment of the updated NECPs, which, under the EU’s Governance Regulation, is expected to be published after all countries have presented their documents. This review will provide an overall evaluation of the plans, followed by specific assessments for each country to guide them on how to better implement EU climate goals.
In the light of these delays, all the more important, that countries are required by law to report every two years on the implementation of their climate plans, including on progress toward targets and information on how public participation was achieved during the update phase. The first round of NECP progress reports (NECPRs) was submitted in 2023 and assessed by the Commission in a technical assessment. In its concluding remarks, the Commission highlighted the need for accelerated climate action, noting that “the pace of emission reduction needs to pick up, to almost triple the average annual reduction achieved over the last decade, to achieve the EU’s 2030 GHG reduction target (i.e. – 55%) and the EU’s 2050 climate neutrality objective”.
Submitting NECPRs is not just a procedural requirement. It is also a critical opportunity for enhancing transparency as national governments are expected to disclose and make widely available their energy and climate data. This is in line with the Aarhus Convention, which requires countries to provide public access to environmental information. However, despite this legal obligation, NGOs show that transparent and high-quality data on climate action in the EU remains limited, leaving significant room for improvement. Ensuring accessible and reliable data is crucial for meaningful stakeholder and civil society engagement in any planning and decision-making processes, as well as for external evaluations of NECPs implementation.
Urgent need for increased climate ambition
The NECPR process and the progress reports remain somewhat obscure documents with complicated data that makes it little accessible for a broader audience. To compensate that, CAN Europe within the TogetherFor1.5 EU LIFE project – developed the NECP Tracker which provides an overview and a visual tool of how countries are keeping up with the pledges (made in the 2019 NECPs) and it assesses the ambition of the latest available climate plans by comparing them with EU 2030 climate targets and energy benchmarks.
As of 2022, several countries -including major emitters like France, Italy, and Poland- were still falling short of their overall decarbonisation targets, with particularly slow progress made in critical non-ETS sectors under the Effort-Sharing Regulation (ESR), including buildings and road transport. Also, most countries assessed have significant untapped renewable energy potential, alongside a strong need to boost energy savings to meet the 2030 EU energy efficiency target.
The importance of accelerating climate action becomes even more critical considering that ESR targets were raised under the Fit for 55 legislation adopted in 2021. This package aims to align the EU policy framework with the EU Climate Law, which targets -55% net emissions cuts by 2030 to set the EU on track for 90% cuts by 2040 and climate neutrality by 2050.
However, to fully align with the Paris Agreement, an even higher level of ambition is needed. Given Europe’s historical responsibility and capacity to act, emission reduction targets should rise to at least 76% within five years, aiming for net zero by 2040. With the current EU climate framework insufficient to ensure the region’s fair share of global climate action, it’s urgent that Member States raise their ambition to – at the very least – meet their targets in full.
Concerningly, the final NECPs still fall short. The need for a bolder climate action has been highlighted by the European Commission in its assessment of the draft updated plans in 2024, reinforced by NGO reports, and echoed in recent warnings from the EU Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change and the State of the Energy Union report.
Against this backdrop, in November 2024 a coalition of NGOs submitted a series of complaints to the European Commission, challenging the quality of the final NECPs in France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Sweden. Based on evidence, these complaints highlight that these national climate plans violate EU law, citing several concerns: insufficient measures to achieve EU climate and energy targets and national contributions reduction, lack of clarity on how and when these countries will phase out fossil fuels, and inadequate public participation in the preparation of the revised plans.
The EC can take legal action against the concerned countries, fulfilling its role as the Guardian of the Treaties and using its enforcement powers as it did in October 2024, when it opened infringement procedures against 13 States that missed the June 2024 deadline. While some of these countries have since submitted their updated plans, five are still missing as of mid-March 2025 (Belgium, Croatia, Estonia, Poland, and Slovakia). Recently – in mid-March – the European Commission took further legal steps and sent the five laggards a “reasoned opinion,” which is the final step before referring a case to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
A just transition that works for all
The targets and deadlines outlined above should not be seen by governments as mere legal obligations or a box-ticking exercise. Instead, they present a unique opportunity to achieve a just transition that safeguards the most vulnerable, from small businesses to communities at risk of energy poverty. By reducing energy bills and ensuring affordable, clean energy for all, NECPs have the potential to greatly improve everyday life through a thorough planning of policies and measures where socio-economic impacts are acknowledged.
To make this a reality, social considerations must be at the heart of climate plans. The Commission’s guidance for updated NECPs urges countries to clearly outline how they plan to use Social Climate Fund resources. This financial framework provides the funds needed to address energy and transport poverty. To unlock these resources, countries must submit their Social Climate Plans by June 2025 – another deadline not to be overlooked. Together,they can form the backbone of a truly fair transition, ensuring no one is left behind.
These plans must move beyond paper documents – they need to be actively and effectively implemented by governments to create real, measurable change and deliver tangible benefits for the citizens, the environment, and the economy. The submission of NECPRs by 15 March will be a key moment to track progress. Another relevant development in the process will be the EU-wide evaluation of the final updated NECPs by the Commission, expected later this year. This will be followed by country-specific recommendations and assessments, highlighting where countries must increase their ambition. Through this process, Europe has the opportunity to lead in global climate action and provide energy security.
