Carbon Market Watch coordinates “PlanUp”, a campaign with the mission to ensure strong and inclusive energy and climate plans to drive rapid decarbonisation in Europe.

Tackling climate change will require substantial reductions in carbon emissions across all sectors of the economy, alongside a rapid transition to a zero-carbon energy mix. To this end, European Union Member States have developed National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) that will need to be implemented in the coming years.

The NECPs are required under the EU Energy Union governance system and are designed to help Member States plan and report on how they will achieve their climate and energy objectives. Bringing all energy and climate targets into one strategy, the NECPs cover those for greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy, and energy efficiency for the next 10 years and then for every 10 year period after that.

NECPs have the potential of turning the EU Green Deal into tangible actions, act as capital raising instruments and involve citizens and civil society in key issues of the climate transition that will affect us all. They can and should also be key tools to plan a green recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

However, the plans submitted so far are not strong enough to reach the EU’s 2030 climate target, let alone the new level of ambition as set out in the European Green Deal or to ensure that Europe emerges from the pandemic more sustainable and more resilient. It will be key to address this gap as governments prepare their recovery plans and start implementing the NECPs this year.

Between 2018-2021, Carbon Market Watch coordinated a campaign that promotes good sectoral practices and fosters dialogue, with the mission to ensure strong and inclusive energy and climate plans that will drive a green recovery and rapid decarbonisation in Europe. More information on the project “PlanUp” is available here.