EU: Environment Action Program and Green Deal climate targets

Today, the Commission presented a list of primary indicators for the monitoring progress towards the EU’s environment and climate targets by 2030, as well as the long-term vision of 2050 for “prosperity, within the limits of the planet”. As a result of intensive consultations with stakeholders and Member States, the new monitoring framework under the 8th Environment Action Program aims to increase transparency and inform Europeans about the impact of EU climate policy and environment.

EU policies must ensure that the EU gets back on track for living and working within the planet’s boundaries. The indicators themselves capture progress towards environmental well-being, including also economic and social aspects. They could therefore pave the way for measuring the health of our economies and societies based on well-being, beyond the more familiar economic indicator, GDP.

Mr. Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice President responsible for the European Green Deal, said: “We have very ambitious environmental and climate goals, which will help us achieve the just green transition that Europe and the world need. But what we can’t measure we can’t manage. To be on track, we need to carefully monitor whether we are achieving our goals. This is what the indicators help us with.”

Mr Virginius Sinkevičius, Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, also said: “Policies are only as good as they are implemented. These leading indicators will help us to pursue the policies we have agreed under the European Green Deal, as they highlight trends and facilitate an informed debate among policymakers about areas where further efforts are needed.”

The primary indicators follow the structure of the 8th Environment Action Program based on the European Green Deal and include the 2-3 most policy relevant and statistically reliable indicators for each of the priority thematic objectives up to 2030, which cover mitigation climate change, climate change adaptation, circular economy, zero pollution and biodiversity.

In addition, the list includes five indicators to measure progress towards addressing the main environmental and climate pressures. In line with the objectives of the European Green Deal, the transition we need to achieve in the coming years towards sustainable energy, industry, mobility and food systems is covered.

In addition, the set of headline indicators includes indicators to monitor progress towards achieving key enabling conditions, which cover sustainable financing and the polluter pays principle, as well as phasing out environmentally harmful subsidies.

The last chapter of the monitoring framework includes systemic indicators that aim to record progress towards the three dimensions of environmental well-being, so that economic and social aspects are also covered, in addition to nature protection.

Next steps

The Commission will report annually on the progress made, based on the stocktaking carried out by the European Environment Agency, from 2023 onwards, with the help of the selected headline indicators. The report to be submitted will facilitate the annual exchange of views between the Commission, the Member States and the European Parliament, which will be conducted under the 8th Environment Action Programme.

In addition, the Commission will carry out two in-depth evaluations during the program — a mid-term review in 2024 and a final evaluation in 2029.

The Commission will continue to promote coherence between the flagship indicators of the 8th Environment Action Program and other horizontal monitoring tools such as the European Semester and the EU’s monitoring of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Record

The 8th Environment Action Program entered into force on 2 May 2022 and provides, among other things, for the Commission to submit a monitoring framework, based on a limited number of primary indicators. These indicators should include, if available, systemic indicators concerning, respectively, the interconnections between environmental-social and environmental-economic policy considerations.

The 8th Environment Action Plan aims to accelerate the green transition in a fair and inclusive way, with a long-term goal for 2050 of “prosperity within the limits of our planet” as established by the 7th Plan (2014-2020). For more than 40 years, these environmental action programs have provided the EU with policy frameworks that deliver results and ensure predictable and coordinated action in European environment and climate change policy.

Nikos Andritsos

View the news feed and get the latest news.