Brussels, 26 February 2025 — Today, the European Commission unveiled its flagship policy package, including the Clean Industrial Deal, the Action Plan for Affordable Energy and the first part of the Omnibus regulation. Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe welcomes the EU’s commitment to its 2040 emission reduction target, circularity and renewable energy expansion. However, the package misses the mark on breaking the EU’s fossil fuel dependency, fails to secure additional EU finance for a green and just transition and cedes ground to corporate influence, rolling back vital environmental and corporate accountability laws under the false promise of ‘simplification‘.
Chiara Martinelli, Director at CAN Europe, said:
“The 2040 climate target is the only cookie in the jar. The rest of the package crumbles under scrutiny. While the Clean Industrial Deal claims to put decarbonisation at the center, the devil is in the detail, and the high-level ambitions do not match the actual proposals. This is not what the Commission promised during the hearings last autumn. With the deregulation push and no concrete plan to mobilise genuine additional finance, there’s little to turn ambition into action. The only real urgency in the deal seems to be weakening the reporting rules, not ensuring companies contribute to a fair, competitive and climate-proof economy.“
In addition, the deal fails to include strong social and environmental safeguards, leaving public money at risk of benefiting corporations without clear conditions on environmental protection, emissions reduction and responsible business practices. Without binding safeguards, the transition risks widening inequalities and failing the communities most affected by industrial change, particularly in the regions dependent on fossil fuels and heavy industry.
Greg Van Elsen, Clean Industrial Deal Policy lead at CAN Europe, said:
“Energy-intensive industries like steel and cement are rightly in the spotlight, as their progress towards decarbonisation has been frustratingly slow despite receiving billions in free allocations, subsidies and state aid. While factors such as energy prices and ongoing international competition should be considered, any additional support must come with strict conditions—such as job guarantees, environmental performance requirements and restrictions on companies using public money to reward shareholders through stock buybacks.“
Action Plan for Affordable Energy
The Action Plan for Affordable Energy takes some steps in the right direction, such as acknowledging the role of renewables, grids and flexibility deployment in bringing energy prices down. What is missing is the scale-up of energy savings and efficiency measures—the most effective ways to cut costs not only for companies but also for households.
Cornelia Maarfield, Head of Energy at CAN Europe, said:
“The cheapest energy is the energy we don’t use, yet there is only a weak commitment to energy efficiency. Outright counterproductive are proposals to support expensive nuclear energy and foreign LNG export infrastructure, increasing our reliance on fossil gas, the very driver of the energy price crisis. The EU must urgently ramp up energy savings and electrification—yet further action on electrification has been delayed by a full year. A swift and decisive phase-out of fossil gas is the only way to bring down prices, both for businesses and for families struggling to pay their energy bills.”
The Omnibus package
The Omnibus package, presented alongside the Clean Industrial Deal, raises serious concerns as it pushes for deregulation under the false premise of reducing administrative burdens. Moreover, this contradicts the Commission’s ambition to mobilise private capital for the EU’s climate transition. Without mandatory sustainability disclosure, investors will be left in the dark when seeking returns that benefit both people and the planet.
Audrey Changoe, Trade & Investment Policy Coordinator at CAN Europe, said:
“The Omnibus package isn’t about simplification—it is an unprecedented deregulation spree, rolling back climate and corporate accountability laws and undoing hard-won progress under the European Green Deal. It’s deeply concerning that the Commission is bowing to the pressure of big corporate lobby, giving fossil fuel giants a free pass by gutting due diligence rules and weakening climate transition plans. Adding insult to injury, civil society organisations, that have been fighting for years for stronger sustainability rules, have been completely sidelined in the opaque Omnibus process.”
ENDS
Notes to the editors:
- CAN Europe’s Position on Clean Industrial Deal
- CAN Europe’s reaction to the Commission’s Competitiveness Compass
- Corporate Europe Observatory: Deregulation Watch
For more information or media requests, please contact:
Jani Savolainen, Communications Coordinator, jani.savolainen@caneurope.org / +358 504667831
