With the adoption of the European Green Deal as a new overarching EU strategy, climate policy goals have officially become integrated across EU policy as a whole. The goal of becoming climate neutral by 2050 is at the heart of the European Green Deal – but how will it be operationalized? This project brings together IDDRI, ECF and Ecologic Institute in their aim to enhance transparency of progress towards the net-zero goal and improving long-term climate governance.

Measuring progress towards climate neutrality: 2050 indicators publication

The Paris Agreement and 2050 strategies have put the spotlight on the transformative qualities of the changes required to become climate neutral. However, these have not fully been integrated into actual policy-making. Building on existing analysis of indicators, used in the assessment of relevant EU processes, Ecologic Institute and IDDRI have partnered to develop a set of indicators to measure progress towards the climate neutrality goal. The approach identifies key elements necessary to achieve the transformation and presents enabling conditions for each element, which can be tracked through indicators. The research also analyses how and where these indicators could be integrated in current and future EU processes (including the European Semester).

Improving climate governance through the European climate law

In March 2020, the European Commission proposed the overarching EU Climate Law, which makes the 2050 climate neutrality goal legally binding. Ecologic Institute has analysed a variety of relevant aspects and presents this to the relevant experts on an ongoing basis. This work also included the drafting a "straw man" legal text of what the law could look like. One presentation of key points were raised in a public webinar organized just after the publication of the Commission’s proposal.

Continuing dialogue between Member States on long-term strategies

Launched in 2018, the Climate Recon 2050 project serves as a platform for exchange between national experts involved in 2050 planning from a range of Member States through a series of targeted workshops. In 2020 and 2021 Ecologic Institute has organized additional opportunities for exchange, not only building on the work with its expert groups so far, but also expanding them with more specialists from different Member States. The further work under the Climate Recon 2050 platform will examine and analyze the national LTSs that have been submitted – and also their links to EU processes implementing the European Green Deal.