The EU Climate Law legally binds EU countries as a whole to become climate neutral by 2050. Achieving this goal requires transforming the way we produce, consume, travel, and eat. EU institutions have already put in place many measures to guide and support governments, businesses, and citizens in this transition. To be effective, policy-makers must now understand how – and at what pace – these measures translate into changes in the real world. The European Climate Neutrality Observatory (ECNO) flagship report is the first ever assessment to provide this information at an economy-wide level.

ECNO's first annual flagship report on the EU's progress to net zero was presented on 26 June 2023 at the official Brussels launch of the initiative. The report is based on a vision of a climate neutral future composed of 13 essential sectoral and horizontal net-zero "building blocks".

The European Climate Neutrality Observatory (ECNO) aims to help ensure the EU achieves climate neutrality by providing scientifically rigorous analysis of economy-wide progress and an independent check on EU climate policy processes. ECNO analyses the data underlying a comprehensive set of progress indicators to present a unique, up-to-date picture of the whole economy and identify any gaps in data collection, benchmarking, and monitoring that need to be addressed. Ecologic Institute has developed an indicator framework in a previous project that ECNO's methodology is based on.