Global Climate Legislation: September 19-20

In this newsletter

• European Commission plans on Climate policy
• Carbon markets
• Climate Finance
• Biodiversity
• More government announcements

European Commission plans on Climate policy

The European Commission has announced the portfolios of its various Commissioners-designate. Here are some climate-related mandates from the mission letters, written by the President to each Commissioner-designate, describing the issues they need to address and specific policy actions they must take.

For Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth

• propose to enshrine the 90% emission-reduction target for 2040 in European Climate Law
• develop the Clean Industrial Deal
• ensure investment is targeted towards European net zero infrastructure
• ensure implementation of ETS2 (emissions trading system for buildings, road transport and additional sectors)
• enhance carbon removals, build-up a Single Market for CO?
• work on CO? transport and storage
• work on a European Climate Adaptation Plan
• further scale down and phase out use of fossil fuel subsidies
• ensure a technology-neutral approach [for climate neutrality of cars] in which e-fuels have a role to play
• work to level the energy taxation playing field
• strategic use of taxation measures to incentivise the uptake of clean technologies

For a clean, just and competitive transition

• develop a new State aid framework to accelerate the roll-out of renewable energy, to deploy industrial decarbonization and to ensure sufficient manufacturing capacity of clean tech.
• review Horizontal Merger Guidelines (to modernize competition policy)
• strengthen and speed up enforcement of competition rules
• enforce the Foreign Subsidies Regulation and tackle anticompetitive policies
• revise State Aid rules to enable housing support

For Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy

In the first 100 days, ensure access to tailored supercomputing capacity for AI-startups and industry through the AI Factories Initiative.

For Prosperity and Industrial Strategy

• develop the Clean Industrial Deal in the first 100 days of the mandate, notably with a focus on decarbonisation, clean technologies and incentivising investment.
• work to boost investment, create lead markets for clean tech and put in place conditions for companies to grow and compete globally.
• present an Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator Act
• setup a dedicated EU Critical Raw Materials Platform, notably to support joint purchasing and manage strategic stockpiles, and to implement the Critical Raw Minerals Act.
• present the Circular Economy Act, helping to create demand for secondary materials and a single market for waste, notably in relation to critical raw materials
• work on a Chemicals Industry Package, to simplify REACH and provide circularity on “forever chemicals”, or PFAS
• develop a steel and metals action plan

For People, Skills and Preparedness

• support the implementation of the Social Climate Fund to support those struggling with energy or transport poverty

For Health and Animal Welfare

• work on a new European Biotech Act
• work on anti-microbial resistance
• prevent and reduce food waste

For the Mediterranean

set up a Trans-Mediterranean Energy and Clean Tech Cooperation Initiative to increase renewable energy trading and boost clean tech manufacturing in the region

For Fisheries and Oceans

• a new European Oceans Pact, focusing on healthy oceans and coastal areas, promoting the blue economy, managing uses of seas and oceans
• strengthen approach to maritime spatial planning
• develop an EU Ocean Research and Innovation Strategy
• ensure the EU leads efforts for the ratification of the Treaty on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction, and incorporate this into EU law, with the specific goal of protecting at least 30% of the High Seas by 2030.

For Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy

• prioritise the design of incentives for nature positive actions and private investment, lead the work on nature credits
• boost private finance for nature
• work on European Water Resilience Strategy to address water efficiency, scarcity, pollution and water related risk
• ensure EU reaches international biodiversity commitments
• strive for a global plastic treaty

For Energy and Housing

• put forward an Action Plan for Affordable Energy Prices
• boost roll out of renewable energy and storage
• propose an Electrification Action Plan, accompanied by a roadmap towards ending Russian energy imports
• support the acceleration of the development and deployment of Small Modular Reactors in Europe during the 2030s
• incentivise and increase the uptake of carbon capture utilisation and storage
• adopt a strategic roadmap for digitalisation and AI in the energy sector
• develop a European Strategy for Housing Construction
• establish a pan-European investment platform for affordable and sustainable housing

For Sustainable Transport and Tourismensure that missing parts of the Trans-European Transport Corridor are built by 2030

• put forward a plan for an ambitious European high-speed rail network
• speed up electrification of road transport, build-up charging infrastructure
• put forward proposals for clean corporate fleets
• develop an EU industrial action plan for the automotive sector
• develop a comprehensive EU Port strategy

For Agriculture and Food

• prepare in the first 100 days a Vision for Agriculture and Food
• propose an EU-wide benchmarking system in the agri-food sector
• explore possibilities to support organic farming
• present a strategy for generational renewal in agriculture
• work to strengthen Europe’s food sovereignty

The rest of this post includes

• Sweden's 2025 Budget
• China SAF pilot
• Australia National Ecosystem Accounts

and more

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