On Wednesday 20 September, the members of the European Parliament’s Environment (ENVI) and Budgetary Control (CONT) Committees welcomed the presentation of a special report by the European Court of Auditors on the European Union’s (EU) ambitions in terms of climate and energy, published on 26 June (see EUROPE 13209/16).
As representative of the supervisory body, Joëlle Elvinger gave a presentation on the document, entitled ‘EU climate and energy targets – 2020 targets achieved, but little indication that actions to reach the 2030 targets will be sufficient’, providing an in-depth overview of the progress made up to 2020 and the challenges ahead.
Ms Elvinger stressed the importance of the global challenges of climate change and their impact on European citizens. She recognised the ambitious targets set by the EU for 2020, 2030 and 2050. The emphasis is on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing the share of renewable energies and improving energy efficiency.
A major point of interest was the EU’s commitment to devote a significant part of its budget to the fight against climate change. Although the EU has increased this figure to 30% (or €87 billion per year) for the period 2021-2027, this represents only 10% of the total investment needed to meet the 2030 targets. The estimated cost of achieving these targets is around €1 billion a year.
The report also looked at the accounting challenges. The EU has endeavoured to be a “world leader in the transition” to climate neutrality. However, the way in which emissions are accounted for would not take into account those resulting from trade, which could increase the EU’s total emissions by 8%.
Joëlle Elvinger noted that although the EU had “achieved its 2020 targets”, this was partly due to external factors such as the financial crisis in 2009 and the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. In addition, the report notes that the Commission has not assessed the extent to which these objectives have been achieved as a result of European policies or external factors.
Another area of concern was the lack of information on the investments needed to meet the 2030 targets. The analysis also reveals a lack of data on financing requirements, particularly from the private sector.
The Court of Auditors makes three major recommendations. Firstly, it calls for greater transparency on the part of the Commission regarding the performance of the Member States. It also suggests comprehensive accounting of greenhouse gas emissions, including those from trade, air and sea transport. Finally, it urges the Commission to give greater support to the Member States in their targets for 2030. To see the report by the Court of Auditors: https://aeur.eu/f/7qt (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)