The Environment Council will have on its agenda on 5 March the adoption of the decision on the early submission of the EU's long-term climate strategy to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). On Wednesday 26 February, the Committee of Permanent Representatives to the EU validated the text that will be submitted for adoption to the environment ministers of the Twenty-Seven.
This is a short one, as many concrete decisions have yet to be taken in the framework of the European Green Deal. It confirms the EU's collective commitment to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, the EU's willingness to take the lead in demonstrating that climate neutrality is possible and desirable and its willingness also to meet its commitments under the Paris Agreement. This universal agreement provides for the long-term strategy to be submitted by all parties to the UNFCCC between 9 and 12 months before the COP26.
Annexed to the decision to be adopted will be the conclusions of the European Council which, last December, endorsed this collective objective of climate neutrality by 2050 (even though Poland could not, at that stage, commit to its implementation) and called for the long-term strategy to be forwarded to the UN in early 2020 (see EUROPE 12389/1).
The text to be submitted to the ministers does not contain a revised EU contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement.
In addition to this decision, the Environment Council of the EU will be informed of the Commission's proposal for a climate law presented the day before and will hold a public debate on the European Green Deal. Ministers are also expected to hold a public debate and adopt conclusions on the fitness check of air quality legislation, a public debate on the fitness check of water legislation (see EUROPE 12389/14) and an exchange of views on the greening of the European Semester, a budgetary exercise now aligned with the European Green Deal for sustainable growth (see EUROPE 12430/10 and other news). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)