The Vienna Forum on European Energy Law - Webinar 2

On 4 March 2020, as part of the European Green Deal, the Commission adopted a proposal for a European Climate Law as part of the European Green Deal strategy in an effort to strengthen measures toward reaching climate neutrality in the EU by 2050. An amended version of the proposal was issued on 17 September 2020, in line with the new 2030 Climate Target Plan, with a new EU-wide net greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. These new measures would have significant repercussions for EU targets and policies across the field as well as ramp up political pressure on Member States to develop more ambitious national targets.

What does this newly adopted proposal involve? What are the main controversies surrounding it? Are the proposed legal tools appropriate? Is the proposed law fit for purpose? With non-binding national targets for 2030 and in a deeply unstable economic climate, is such an escalation of efforts feasible?