VdL-2024-detail-1

The von der Leyen Commission adopted the European Green Deal in its first month in office, setting the priority to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent, become a world leader in the circular economy, eliminate pollution, protect biodiversity and mobilise finance for the green transition.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the EU has used the crisis recovery instruments to advance climate action, by requiring Member States to spend 37 % of EU funding under the Recovery and Resilience Facility on climate investment and reforms. The second major crisis, Russia’s war on Ukraine, has turned energy efficiency and renewables into critical tools to tackle rising energy prices and energy security challenges. The Commission’s RePowerEU initiative sought to diversify gas supplies and accelerate the transition to clean energy. It was complemented by the EU ‘Save Energy’ communication, a new Regulation on Gas Storage, and the EU ‘Save gas for a safe winter’ plan.