The European Union is entering a new phase of climate and energy policymaking. As ambition increases for 2040 and 2050, the EU’s climate governance framework must evolve accordingly. This project supports the European Commission in carrying out a comprehensive impact assessment for a revision of the Governance Regulation, the EU's umbrella framework for climate and energy policy. The project aims to ensure it remains effective, efficient, and fit for purpose in the post-2030 context.

The Governance Regulation has proven instrumental in keeping the EU on track to meet its climate and energy targets as well as improving coherence, integration, and transparency in national planning and reporting. At the same time, the Commission’s 2024 evaluation shows that the current framework needs updating to respond to new political priorities, such as the EU-wide objective of climate neutrality by 2050, the interim 2040 target, and evolving economic, social, and geopolitical realities.

The core challenge is to adapt a governance framework originally designed around 2030 targets so that it can effectively guide climate and energy action well beyond 2030. This requires strengthening long-term planning and compliance while simplifying procedures and reducing administrative burdens, in line with the Commission’s broader simplification and competitiveness agendas.

Key Focus Areas

• Aligning governance with post-2030 goals
  The project examines how the Governance Regulation can better incentivise coordinated national action towards the EU’s 2040 and 2050 climate objectives, extending the planning horizon and strengthening long-term policy pathways.
• Strengthening the investment orientation of NECPs
  The project assesses options to evolve National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) into true green transition investment plans, improving investment predictability and outlining concrete financing needs and strategies for the clean energy transition.
• Participation and iterative processes
  The project examines how stakeholder engagement and regional and cross-border cooperation can be reinforced, ensuring more consistent application of public participation provisions and better involvement of local authorities, industry, finance, and civil society.
• Efficiency and proportionality
  A key focus is improving the internal coherence of governance processes and their alignment with other EU frameworks, including the European Semester and the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). Options for simplifying and digitalising reporting are explored to reduce administrative burdens and improve data usability.

The project delivers robust analytical support to the Commission by developing, refining and comparing concrete policy options for revising the Governance Regulation. It combines quantitative analysis, such as estimates of administrative costs and impacts on investment, with qualitative insights, such as stakeholder perspectives. Stakeholder engagement is an integral part of the work and includes consultations, workshops, interviews, and cooperation with Member States, ensuring that reform options are grounded in practical experience.

By supporting the revision of the Governance Regulation, the project helps future-proof EU climate and energy governance, underpinning Europe’s pathway towards climate neutrality.