27 July 2021 - After a rapid reaction to the Fit for 55 Package, CLG Europe carried out an initial analysis of the climate and energy legislation proposals against the 10 principles contained in the business letter addressed to EU leaders.
Download the initial analysis here
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The publication of the Fit for 55 Package by the European Commission on 14 July 2021 comes during a make-or-break moment for delivering on the Paris Agreement. The purpose of this package of legislative proposals is to provide the policy framework for the EU to ‘deliver the transformational change needed across our economy, society and industry’ to achieve at least 55% net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050 with the Green Deal at its core.
On the day of publication Eliot Whittington, Director of the European Corporate Leaders Group said:
“Today is an historic moment. The Commission should be congratulated for unveiling a major package of significant new initiatives and amendments. Today’s announcements come with the explicit recognition that what is good for climate is good for the economy. However, the question remains whether these changes will enable the pace of ambition required and deliver a positive Green Deal and social and economic transformation. Business and government must work together to ensure that the EU seizes the opportunities to advance on the race to zero and modernise our economies while maximising economic and social benefits including job creation.”
The European Commission’s Communication on the package underlines the economic benefits of increased climate action, demonstrating that climate ambition, economic prosperity and sustainable growth can go hand in hand and stressing that the Green Deal is the EU’s growth strategy. The package also aims to support a green economic recovery, increase the EU’s competitiveness, create jobs, increase investor certainty and solidify the EU’s global leadership through action and leading by example. Within the EU, it sends a strong signal that Europe’s economic recovery will be achieved through climate action.
One of the key challenges for the package is to ensure coherence across European policy – from finance to industrial, circular, digital, employment and nature – and to align fiscal levers to support the net zero transition across all sectors of the economy. The proposals that have been revealed so far include in-depth revisions to 12 different policy areas.
In this short briefing, we provide an initial assessment as to how well the proposed revisions to the 12 Regulations and Directives align with the principles in the open letter that CLG Europe convened with more than 70 leading businesses and business networks prior to the release of the package. The most notable revisions to each policy area are outlined in Annex 1. Over the next few months, CLG Europe will continue to analyse the implications of the Package and the debate at EU level as the proposals are negotiated by the European Council and Parliament.
