CoR Plenary (April 2022)

his Working Paper analyses the main aspects of the European Green Deal proposed by the European Commission in December 2019. It puts the Green Deal into the broader context of EU climate governance in order to assess whether and how it advances the EU’s climate agenda. The paper proposes four broad and interrelated categories to evaluate the Green Deal. Its performance depends on whether it is and will remain a policy priority, despite the Covid-19 emergency and the ensuing economic crisis. Second, successful implementation depends on adequate financial endowment, including the shift of public funding from hydrocarbons to renewables and energy efficiency in post-pandemic economic programmes. The legal competence of EU institutions to coordinate and enforce the implementation of the Green Deal is also essential, as highlighted by ongoing discussions concerning the governance to achieve zero net emissions by 2050. Furthermore, international cooperation with third partners on issues such as border carbon adjustment, technology transfers and green industry will influence both the implementation of the Green Deal in the EU and the contribution of other major emitters to the climate agenda.

The aim of the SCF is to help vulnerable households, micro-businesses and transport users meet the costs of the green energy transition in the buildings and road transport sector. The SCF is designed to counter the additional costs that vulnerable consumers may face when the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) Directive is revised to cover these two sectors, as proposed in the fit for 55 package. The SCF aims to provide over €72 billion in EU funding over the 2025-2032 period, to be paid for mainly by ETS credits in the buildings and road transport sectors. The SCF funds will need to be matched by equivalent social climate funding from Member States, which must prepare social climate plans. As a new budget line to be financed from EU 'own resources', the SCF will require amendments to the Own Resources Decision and the 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework. The file has been referred to the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) and to the Committee for Employment and Social Affairs, which will be producing a joint report. First edition. The 'EU Legislation in Progress' briefings are updated at key stages throughout the legislative procedure.

The revision of the Energy Taxation Directive (ETD) is part of the 'fit for 55' package. The current ETD (Directive 2003/96/EC) is outdated and out of sync with the EU's climate and energy objectives. In July 2021, the Commission presented a proposal for the revision of the Energy Taxation Directive. Its objective is to align the taxation of energy products with EU energy and climate policies by promoting clean technologies, removing outdated exemptions and reducing rates that de facto encourage the use of fossil fuels. The ETD revision is a consultation procedure. It requires unanimity in Council, after consulting the European Parliament and the European Economic and Social Committee. Parliament has assigned the file to the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, which appointed a rapporteur in September 2021. The ITRE committee is associated with the procedure under Rule 57. First edition. 'EU Legislation in Progress' briefings are updated at key stages throughout the legislative procedure.

Under the European Green Deal, the EU signed up for the transition to a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy with no net emissions of greenhouse gases in 2050 and economic growth decoupled from resource use. As a medium target towards the 'net zero' long-term goal, the EU committed to at least 55% GHG emission reductions by 2030. Well-designed energy taxation can play a direct role in steering a successful energy transition. However, as this briefing shows, Council Directive 2003/96/EC restructuring the Community framework for the taxation of energy products and electricity (ETD) and its implementation suffer from significant shortcomings (i.a. highly divergent national tax rates across the EU, a wide range of exemptions and reductions applied by the Member States and a lack of alignment with other EU climate and energy legislation). The Commission therefore plans to review the ETD in the second quarter of 2021.

The European Commission (EC), based on the European Green Deal (2019) and the Recovery plan for Europe (2021), envisages investing 30% of the budget in climate-related programs, projects, and initiatives, which clearly shows Europe’s commitment to becoming the frst climate-neutral region by 2050. Activities are also planned for countries that are not members of the European Union (EU), which require complex changes in the feld of legislation, strategic planning, implementation, and monitoring. To successfully plan short-term and long-term activities on these grounds, it is necessary to have a realistic picture of the state of climate change in each country—as they spill over into the entire region of Europe. The main objective of this paper is to answer the following questions: (i) is climate change observed in Western Balkans? (ii) how are certain sectors vulnerable to climate change in Western Balkans? (iii) what are the climate change adaptation strategies in the six countries of the Western Balkans? The answers to these questions can help in planning activities and initial alignment of Western Balkan countries with the EU plan to achieve net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050.

The socio-economic consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic have led the European Union to embark on an ambitious recovery plan that, inter alia, supports short-term economic recovery as well as the longer-term economic transformation and socially just transition objectives of the Green Deal. The chapter also refl ects on the opportunities and trade-off s between the immediate economic and social measures undertaken to mitigate the impact of the pandemic and the longer-term socio-economicecological objectives of the EGD. It explores practical ways to maximise opportunities to achieve fundamental transformations to sustainability over coming decades while minimising such trade-off s.