On Monday 25 March, the environment ministers of the EU27 will meet in the Environment Council. They will debate topics including the Waste Framework Directive, the Commission’s proposal to prevent the loss of plastic pellets into the environment, and the EU’s 2040 climate target.
This ministerial Council was also reportedly supposed to have been an opportunity for the ministers to formally ratify the interinstitutional agreement on the regulation on nature restoration (see EUROPE 13376/14). This will not happen, however, as the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council was unable to secure a qualified majority among the EU27 at the meeting of Member States’ ambassadors to the EU (‘Coreper’) on Friday 22 March. The item has therefore been removed from the agenda of the Council of Ministers, and no timetable has yet been set regarding the future of the text (see other news).
Waste Framework Directive. Member State ministers will debate the text which aims to reduce the environmental and climate impact of the textile sector and the production and management of food waste. Discussions will focus on greater efficiency on the part of textile producers, which requires them to cover the costs of managing textile waste.
They will also take stock of food waste targets for 2030 and national prevention programmes to combat this phenomenon. This text will not be finalised until the next parliamentary term, as the Council’s position has not yet been decided ahead of future interinstitutional negotiations (‘trilogues’). The European Parliament, for its part, formally adopted its position at the plenary session on 13 March (see EUROPE 13370/21).
Reducing pollution from microplastics. The ministers will continue their work with another debate on the reduction of microplastic pollution, which should prevent losses of plastic pellets into the environment, in particular through unintentional releases resulting from their handling by EU operators and transporters.
On this issue, attention will be focused on assessing the planned provisions with regard to the responsibilities allocated to the various public and private players. They will also analyse the need — or lack thereof — to include measures for the maritime sector, which is not yet covered by the text.
MEPs, for their part, adopted the report by João Albuquerque (S&D, Portuguese) on the subject on 19 March. The European Parliament’s position on the trilogues will be put to the vote at the April plenary session (see EUROPE 13374/14).
2040 climate target. The examination of the Commission’s communication on the European Union’s climate objective for 2040 will also be on the agenda of the environment and climate ministers. The document, presented on 6 February (see EUROPE 13344/1), recommends a target of a 90% reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, compared to 1990 levels, in order to keep the EU on the path to climate neutrality by 2050.
The aim is to align with scientific advice and to continue to implement the commitments made as part of the Paris Agreement established in 2015. This communication introduces a debate on the future post-2030 climate action framework and the measures relating to the ‘Fit for 55’ legislative package.
In the Council, a detailed examination of the communication and an impact assessment were initiated at working group level on 12 February 2024. The ministers will be asked to express their views on how the Union should continue the transition to climate neutrality and what the key conditions for a post-2040 framework will be. They will also discuss the sectors most likely to contribute to the transition.
Legislative proposals incorporating the 2040 target into the European climate law and subsequent sectoral measures will be presented by the next Commission.
Climate risk adaptation. In addition, the Commission will be submitting its communication on climate risk adaptation to the ministers on 19 March. This response to the publication of the first-ever European climate risk assessment, published by the European Environment Agency (EEA) (see EUROPE 13368/11), sets out concrete proposals for action to maintain societal functions and protect people, economic competitiveness and the health of EU economies and businesses while ensuring a just transition (see EUROPE 13369/11).
National Energy and Climate Plans (NECP). Finally, the EU ministers will examine the state of progress of the NECPs. Member States had until 30 June to submit their updated national plans for the period 2021-2030 to the European Commission. These plans (see EUROPE 13166/19) were introduced in 2018 to oblige EU countries to draw up a regularly updated 10-year progress report on their transition to a sustainable energy system, focusing on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the development of renewable energy, energy efficiency, security of supply, the internal market and research, innovation and competitiveness.
See the agenda: https://aeur.eu/f/bhn (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry and Thomas Mangin)