The European Commission presented on 4 March the European Climate Law, striving to make the EU the world’s first climate neutral economic bloc by 2050. With the European Climate Law the Commission proposes a legally binding target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The EU Institutions and the Member States are collectively bound to take the necessary measures at EU and national level to meet the target.

At the same time, the Commission is launching a public consultation on the future European Climate Pact. Through this consultation the public will be involved in co-designing this instrument.

“We are acting today to make the EU the world’s first climate neutral continent by 2050,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, adding that the Climate Law is the legal translation of the EU’s political commitment, and sets the bloc irreversibly on the path to a more sustainable future. “It is the heart of the European Green Deal. It offers predictability and transparency for European industry and investors. And it gives direction to our green growth strategy and guarantees that the transition will be gradual and fair,” she said.

For his part, European Green Deal Executive Vice President Frans Timmermans said the Climate Law shows the Commission is turning words into action, to show European citizens that the EU is serious about reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. “The European Climate Law is also a message to our international partners that this is the year to raise global ambition together, in the pursuit of our shared Paris Agreement goals. The Climate Law will ensure we stay focused and disciplined, remain on the right track and are accountable for delivery,” Timmermans said.

The Climate Law includes measures to keep track of progress and adjust our actions accordingly, based on existing systems such as the governance process for Member States’ National Energy and Climate Plans, regular reports by the European Environment Agency, and the latest scientific evidence on climate change and its impacts. Progress will be reviewed every five years, in line with the global stocktake exercise under the Paris Agreement, the Commission said.

The Climate Law also addresses the pathway to get to the 2050 target. Based on a comprehensive impact assessment, the Commission will propose a new 2030 EU target for greenhouse gas emission reductions. The Climate Law will be amended once the impact assessment is completed.

By June 2021, the Commission will review, and where necessary propose to revise, all relevant policy instruments to achieve the additional emission reductions for 2030.

The Commission proposes the setting of a 2030-2050 EU-wide trajectory for greenhouse gas emission reductions, to measure progress and give predictability to public authorities, businesses and citizens.

By September 2023, and every five years thereafter, the Commission will assess the consistency of EU and national measures with the climate-neutrality objective and the 2030-2050 trajectory.

The Commission will be empowered to issue recommendations to Member States whose actions are inconsistent with the climate-neutrality objective, and Member States will be obliged to take due account of these recommendations or to explain their reasoning if they fail to do so. The Commission can also review the adequacy of the trajectory and the Union wide measures.

Member States will also be required to develop and implement adaptation strategies to strengthen resilience and reduce vulnerability to the effects of climate change.

Alongside government policies and regulation, all sectors of society and economy have a part to play in the transition to a climate-neutral European Union, the Commission said, adding that the public consultation on a new European Climate Pact launched on 4 March is a broad initiative to give citizens and stakeholders a voice and role in designing new climate actions, sharing information, launching grassroots activities and showcasing solutions that others can follow. The public consultation will be open for 12 weeks. The inputs will be used to shape the Climate Pact, which will be launched before the United Nations Climate Change Conference taking place in Glasgow in November 2020 (COP26).

On 4 March, the Commission officially started work with the publication of the inception impact assessments on the future Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and the review of the Energy Taxation Directive, two of the other important policy instruments under the European Green Deal. In addition, the College of Commissioners adopted a proposal to designate 2021 as the European Year of Rail to highlight the benefits for the climate of increasing passenger and freight use of the rail network.

Meanwhile, Greenpeace criticised the Climate Law, saying it includes no measures to boost emissions cuts by 2030. Cuts in greenhouse gas emissions over the next 10 years are definitive for the success – or failure – of climate action, Greenpeace said, citing UN scientists.

“With no plans for a science-based 2030 target, nor measures to end fossil fuel subsidies, we’re setting ourselves up for failure,” Greenpeace EU climate policy adviser Sebastian Mang said. “Decades of dithering and half measures have led us to a point where the very survival of life on Earth is at risk from climate breakdown. The time to act is now, not in 10 years,” he added.

According to Greenpeace, a dozen countries including Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden have sent a letter to the Commission calling for the EU 2030 climate target to be drawn up “as soon as possible”, in order for the EU to lead by example ahead of the vital UN talks in Glasgow later this year.

However, other groups hailed the Climate Law. EGEC Geothermal welcomed the European Commission’s proposal but called for higher decarbonization efforts. “This is a watershed moment, but we need to see Member States’ commitment to higher climate and energy targets in 2030 if this Law is to tackle the climate crisis.” EGEC Geothermal Secretary General Philippe Dumas said. “Energy remains the largest source of emissions. Heat, which is central to buildings and industrial decarbonisation, must be the priority targets for 2030”.

The Zero Emissions Platform (ZEP) reiterated its support for the EU’s commitment to climate neutrality by 2050. “We welcome the European Commission’s commitment to a legally binding target of net-zero GHG emissions in Europe by 2050,” ZEP Chairman Graeme Sweeney said. “CCS and CCU technologies can enable a just transition for European industries and citizens in a safe and cost-efficient way. To fulfil this commitment, the development of European CO2 transport and storage infrastructure is critical and urgent. European CO2 transport and storage infrastructure will play a major role in the decarbonisation of European energy and industrial sectors, making EU regions attractive for clean investments. Additionally, it will unlock the potential of CCS technologies along the industrial value chains, and will enable early, large-scale volumes of clean hydrogen and negative emissions,” he added.

The European Partnership for Energy and the Environment (EPEE), the voice of the cooling and heat pump industry in Europe, also welcomed the initiative to establish a legally binding 2050 climate-neutrality objective. “The EU and its Member States should use this opportunity to create a legislative environment that promotes an integrated heating & cooling approach, maximizing the benefits of cooling whilst creating the smallest footprint in terms of GHG emissions and electrical peak demand,” EPEE said in a statement.