Foto von Gildásio Filho auf Unsplash, cover: IDDRI, 2025
European Union
Case study: presenting real examples of alignment
- Publication
- Citation
Evans, Nick and Matthias Duwe 2024: European Union. In: NDC–LT-LEDS Alignment Guide. Aligning short-term plans with long-term ambitions (pp. 17–23). Ecologic Institute.
Authored by Nick Evans and Matthias Duwe, this case study notes that with the European Green Deal, the European Climate Law, and the Governance Regulation the EU has built a strong governance framework for climate policy-making. These policies have been effective in linking national and EU-wide actions and enhancing a harmonized approach across EU Member States. They legally enshrine the binding goal of EU-wide climate neutrality by 2050 and embed five-year national policy planning cycles in line with the UNFCCC Global Stocktake.
However, the analysis also identifies challenges: the EU's 2018 long-term strategy now largely out of date has yet to be updated, national climate and energy plans (NECP) and long-term strategies (LTS) remain inconsistent and insufficiently detailed, and investment gaps risk slowing progress on the clean transition. These shortcomings may lead to bottlenecks, closing doors on options entirely or making later mitigation efforts more costly.
By highlighting both achievements and gaps, the case study provides key lessons for improving coherence between short- and long-term climate planning in the EU and for other regions seeking to strengthen their own alignment processes.
The EU case study contributes to a guide on NDC–LTS alignment, developed in collaboration with the 2050 Pathways Platform.
Contact
- Language
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English
- Authorship
- Funding
- Published in
- NDC – LT-Leds Alignment Guide, Aligning short-term plans with long-term ambitions
- Published by
- Year
- Dimension
- 7 pp.
- Project
- Project ID
- Keywords
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long-term strategies, LTS, nationally determined contributions, NDC, UNFCCC, EU, European UnionEurope
Velten, Eike Karola, Duwe, Matthias, Evans, Nick (2022): Charting a path to net zero: An assessment of national long-term strategies in the EU. Summary. Ecologic Institute, Berlin.
Velten, Eike Karola and Deyana Spasova 2023: Charting a path to net zero: Country specific information. Berlin: Ecologic Institute.
Duwe, Matthias 2022: Making EU climate governance fit for net zero. An analysis of the current landscape of relevant EU climate policy processes and recommendations for alignment with the climate neutrality objective. Scientific opinion paper. Dessau-Roßlau: Federal Environment Agency.
Velten, Eike Karola et al. 2025: 2025 Flagship Report: State of EU progress to climate neutrality. An indicator-based assessment across 13 building blocks for a climate neutral future. European Climate Neutrality Observatory (ECNO).
Michael Pahle, Ulrich Fahl, Benjamin Görlach, Ronja Busch, Simon Feindt, Nikolas Messerschmidt, Jana Nysten, Sebastian Osorio, Darius Sultani et al. (2025): Staying the course in turbulent times: Insights on the current state and ways forward for the EU's climate, energy and finance policy architecture. Kopernikus-Projekt Ariadne, Potsdam. DOI: 10.48485/pik.2025.008
Lalieu, Simon et al. 2025: Delivering 2030 climate targets. A snapshot of the transparency and policy information gaps of Member States' NECPs. Report of the project European Climate Neutrality Observatory (ECNO).
Meyer-Ohlendorf, Nils et al. (2025): Climate Targets for EU Member States after 2030: Functions and Options. Ecologic Institute, Berlin.