At today’s 22nd bilateral EU-China Summit, the EU and China have committed to develop economic stimuli that address both the economic and the climate crises. They have also reaffirmed their commitments to the implementation of the Paris Agreement, through closer partnership on climate action and the clean energy transition.

EU Heads of State and Government have exchanged their views on the revised EU budget and additional recovery funds proposed by the European Commission to counter the economic crisis.
While there was support for a recovery focus on the green dimension, they must now make sure that the money will be invested to achieve higher climate targets and a swift transition to climate neutrality.

At the global level, growth in renewable power has been strong over the past five years, overpassing all the other fuels in growth and competitiveness. Globally, too little is happening in heating, cooling and transport where the barriers are still nearly the same as ten years ago. As for Europe, while the share of renewable energy keeps increasing, investments have fallen yet again by 4% since 2018, according to REN21’s Renewables 2020 Global Status Report (GSR), released today.

For the first time, EU leaders will discuss the European Commission’s proposals for a revised long-term EU budget, including significant recovery funding to address the economic shortfall caused by COVID-19, at an online European Summit this Friday. By focusing EU recovery spending on the green transition towards climate neutrality, heads of state and government can set the course for future sustainable and resilient economies.

The Energy Ministers exchanged views on the needed economic transformation towards climate neutrality which is a major opportunity to reduce the use of fossil fuels and promote European leadership in developing and deploying sustainable technologies. The ministers acknowledged during today’s last ministerial meeting under the Croatian Presidency that the energy transition might slow down without adequate support. Further bilateral meetings will take place in the coming days to reach a compromise and adopt official conclusions.

  1. More than 20 Turkish NGOs demand withdrawal of finance by Chinese banks to the Hunutlu coal-fired power plant
  2. National Energy and Climate Plans must still be improved to be in line with the Paris Agreement
  3. EU recovery plan allows continued support to climate polluting fossil fuels, lifting climate spending targets
  4. European Commission’s Recovery Package: time to turn Green Deal ambition into a fossil fuel-free and green recovery

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