Late on Wednesday night, 2 December, negotiators from the European Parliament, the Slovenian Presidency of the EU Council and the European Commission reached an interim political agreement on the EU’s comprehensive environmental action programme (8th EAP), which will set out a framework for EU environment and climate policy through 2030.
The third ‘trilogue’ was therefore conclusive (see EUROPE 12813/12). However, it will be necessary to wait for the validation of this political agreement by the EU27 ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) before the text can be published by the EU Council.
This 8th EAP was presented by the European Commission on 14 October 2020 to guide EU environmental policy from 2021 to 2030 and to provide a framework for monitoring progress (see EUROPE 12581/7).
According to the interinstitutional compromise, the six priority thematic objectives of the programme will be: - mitigating climate change to meet the EU’s 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target; - adapting to climate change; - moving towards an economy of wellbeing that gives back more to the planet than it takes from it; - pursuing the ambition of zero pollution, including harmful chemicals; - protecting, preserving and restoring biodiversity; - significantly reducing the main environmental pressures related to the EU’s material and consumption footprint.
Monitoring framework. The European Commission will assess and report annually on the progress made by Member States. A summary scoreboard and indicators “beyond GDP” will be developed to guide policymaking. The evaluation will be made available to the public, and an annual exchange of views will be organised by the EU institutions.
A midterm review of the 8th EAP will be carried out by 31 March 2024 and, if necessary to achieve the priority objectives by 2030, a legislative proposal with a list of additional actions should be presented by the European Commission for the period after 2025.
The compromise thus makes it possible to reconcile the EU Council’s demand that the actions to be carried out over the 2025-2030 period be specified (the European Green Deal, whose duration coincides with the mandate of the current European Commission, does not contain any specific actions) and the European Commission’s refusal to cede its exclusive power to initiate legislation.
Fossil fuels. The interim agreement provides that the strengthening of environmentally positive incentives and the phasing out of environmentally harmful subsidies, in particular fossil fuel subsidies, will be ensured through the development of a binding legislative framework to monitor and report on Member States’ progress towards the phasing out of fossil fuel subsidies.
In this context, a date will be set for phasing out fossil fuel subsidies that is consistent with the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
By 2023, the European Commission will present a methodology for identifying other environmentally harmful subsidies with a view to reporting on Member States’ progress in phasing them out.
“The 8th EAP makes a ‘Wellbeing Economy’ a priority objective for 2030. This is a first in EU law and marks an important step in moving away from the obsessive and unsustainable focus on GDP growth”, said Parliament’s chief negotiator Grace O'Sullivan (Greens/EFA, Ireland).
The European Commission welcomed this compromise. “This further strengthens our collective capacity to tackle the interlinked crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution”, said Commissioner for the Environment Virginijus Sinkevičius.
Asked why the European Commission has neither proposed nor supported a date for the exit from fossil fuels, despite the ambition expressed at COP26 in Glasgow, the spokesperson responsible for the European Green Deal, Vivian Loonela, replied that in the interinstitutional negotiations, “the Commission only plays a facilitating role”. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)