Assessment of progress towards the objectives of the Energy Union and Climate Action highlights the need for EU countries to focus on implementation

EU greenhouse gas net emissions decreased by around 3% in 2022, continuing the overall downward trend of the past 30 years, but Member States need to significantly step-up implementation efforts to reach the EU’s targets for 2030 and 2050, according to a new report looking at Member State implementation of their National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs). Published this week as part of the 2023 State of the Energy Union Report exercise, the Commission’s  NECP progress reports’ technical assessment  concludes that the pace of emissions reduction needs to increase to almost triple the average annual reduction over the last decade in order to achieve a 55% emissions reduction by the end of the decade. Under the governance regulation, Member States are required to report every two years on the progress they have made in implementing their NECPs. The Commission is then required to publish a report assessing the progress. This is the first such report. 

EU Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson said:

'If all Fit for 55 measures are implemented, we are on track towards the EU's 2030 target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 55% - and possibly even surpass it. The national energy and climate plans are our main tool to ensure that our headline targets become tangible policies on the ground. We need a strong focus on the implementation by Member States of European-wide targets, as well as facilitating increased investments in the clean energy transition.'

The report also assesses the other EU objectives and further aspects of the NECPs. It confirms that the share of renewables in gross final energy consumption reached 21.8% in 2021. However, it will require much faster growth in the coming years to achieve the new 2030 EU target of 42.5% (and even more so the aspirational target of 45%). On energy efficiency, the assessment concludes that primary energy consumption in the EU (1311 Mtoe) in 2021 remained lower than in 2019, while recalling the impact of the COVID-19 recovery. In terms of the internal energy market, the Commission notes good efforts to increase cross-border capacity, but underlines that further efforts are required to meet the 2030 interconnectivity objectives, in particular in terms of the timely delivery of planned cross-border projects between Member States.

All Member States are currently in the process of updating their NECPs for the period until 2030 – a process which should be completed by mid-2024. These changes should reflect the new 2030 targets established in the ‘Fit for 55’ legislation, such as the revised Renewable energy Directive and the new Energy Efficiency Directive. Draft updates have already been submitted by most Member States, and the Commission is assessing the contribution of these draft updated plans to delivering the new 2030 energy and climate framework.  

Related links

• National Energy and Climate Plans progress reports’ technical assessment (SWD/2023/646)
• News: State of the Energy Union 2023 (24/10/2023)
• National energy and climate plans