On Thursday, 7 November—the day of Commissioner-designate for Climate, Net-Zero and Clean Growth Wopke Hoekstra’s confirmation hearing (see other news)—a coalition of NGOs lodged a series of complaints denouncing “systemic failures” in several European countries’ national energy and climate plans (NECPs), specifically targeting France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Sweden.
Notre affaire à tous (France), Germanwatch (Germany), Environmental Justice Network Ireland (Ireland), A Sud (Italy), and WWF Italy (Italy) as well as Sweden’s Environmental Association of Law and the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation have urged the European Commission to take legal measures to ensure that EU Member States honour the climate and energy commitments they made.
The organisations highlight [these countries’] failure to meet the EU’s climate and energy targets, [their] lack of transparency on fossil fuel subsidies, and insufficient public participation in creating the NECPs.
To date, only 14 Member States have submitted a revised NECP (see EUROPE 13506/18), even though the deadline was 30 June 2024. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)