The European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, appeared before the Member States at the Energy Council on Tuesday 19 December to present the European Commission’s assessment of the ‘National Energy and Climate Plans’ (NECPs) (see EUROPE 13166/19), presented the day before by the European Commission.
“Updating these plans is an important step towards meeting our climate commitments (...). They help us to stay the course and remain credible in the eyes of our citizens and global partners”, explained Commissioner Simson.
She went on to say that a country-by-country analysis of these plans would identify areas where improvement was needed, in order to guide the Member States in the final drafting of their plans, due by June 2024.
Three Member States, which only submitted their plans in mid-November (Belgium, Ireland and Latvia), will not receive their assessments until early 2024. The three Member States that have still not submitted a plan (Austria, Bulgaria and Poland) have been invited by the Commissioner to do so without delay.
In its assessment, the European Commission identified a number of areas requiring particular attention:
- firstly, current efforts are not enough to achieve the target of a 55% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2030;
- secondly, there are significant gaps in economic sectors outside the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) (see EUROPE 13164/13) and in the area of Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) (see EUROPE 13062/15);
- thirdly, although progress has been made in the field of renewable energies, it is still insufficient to achieve the 42.5% target.
The Commission has also stressed the need to phase out fossil fuels and reduce subsidies that hinder progress towards climate neutrality. She called on Member States to focus more on energy security and the competitiveness of Europe’s clean energy value chains.
Lastly, national plans must adequately address climate-related impacts and strengthen resilience to climate change.
The Commission has made additional recommendations as part of the European Climate Law to ensure consistency between Member States’ policies.
Mrs Simson was keen to point out that the plans assessed were only a “first draft”. “If certain elements are missing, we do not need to launch an infringement procedure at this stage. We can guide Member States to improve their plans, so that the final plans are aligned and allow us to calculate the level of the EU’s renewable energy target”, she explained.
The next deadline for Member States is therefore 30 June 2024, when they must submit their final, updated NECPs, taking into account the Commission’s recommendations and assessments.
To see the Commission’s assessment: https://aeur.eu/f/a6s (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry and Pauline Denys)