A new briefing published today by Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe and ZERO describes how Member States’ National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) can contribute to increased climate action in the EU. The briefing builds upon the report previously published by CAN Europe and ZERO covering opportunities and gaps in 15 Member States’ NECPs, and assesses the final Bulgarian, German and Irish NECPs.
Ahead of the Commission’s detailed NECP assessment that is expected to be published on 14 October, the briefing underlines the risk of these NECPs to miss the needed level of climate ambition, and calls upon the Commission to ensure clear and proper reporting on the progress of implementation and improvements made to the level of ambition of the NECPs.
Calling upon Member States to continuously improve their plans to achieve higher climate ambition, the briefing underlines the Danish and Irish NECPs as good examples in terms of using these plans as living documents that would be permanently updated with higher targets and stronger policies and measures to reflect more ambitious climate action commitments.
Regarding the Bulgarian and German NECPs, the briefing highlights that both countries need a stronger emissions reduction target and more ambitious renewable energy and energy efficiency policies to meet their commitments under the Paris Agreement. For the Irish NECP, it assesses that the submitted NECP is still not compatible with the Paris Agreement, nor will it prepare Ireland adequately for the expected increase of the EU’s 2030 climate target and the promised revision should happen relatively soon.
Wendel Trio, Director of Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe said: “National Energy and Climate Plans are key to implement higher climate and energy targets in the EU, while guiding the use of recovery funds to enable a fast and just transition towards climate neutrality. Hence, it is crucial for the Commission to give strong recommendations to the Member States to help them improve the level of ambition of the targets, policies and measures included in the Plans.”
ENDS
Contact:
Goksen Sahin, CAN Europe Communications Coordinator, goksen@caneurope.org, +32 468 45 39 20
