EU Climate Action

On 1 February, the European Climate Pact celebrated two years of taking climate action together, in our worlds, for our planet. The event brought together Climate Pact Ambassadors, experts and activists to take stock of the journey so far and discuss ways to build a more sustainable Europe for the future. Watch the recording and photos from the event.

The European Union has granted EUR 1.8 billion through its Innovation Fund to 16 innovative projects that will avoid about 125 million tonnes of CO2 emissions in the first 10 years of operation. After successfully completing their grant agreement preparation, the projects’ leaders met on 19 January in Brussels for the signing of the agreement granting the project support from the Innovation Fund.

A modelling exercise for a 1.5°C global warming scenario shows that energy trade shrinks to account for 13% of global energy demand in 2050, and energy production goes local as renewables increase to reach 75% share of energy supply.

On 18 December 2022, the Council and Parliament reached a provisional agreement on the revision of the EU emissions trading system (‘EU ETS’), as part of the ‘Fit for 55’ package. This political agreement on the revision of the EU ETS includes adjustments to its compliance calendar. In particular, the deadline for competent authorities to grant free allocation is planned to be postponed from 28 February to 30 June, and the deadline to surrender allowances from 30 April to 30 September.

This year’s Covenant of Mayors – Europe conference in Brussels will focus on the local response to the energy crisis, discussing how it has shown (once again) that cities are frontrunners of Europe’s energy transition, and how these efforts can become long-term strategies to redefine lifestyles in the face of climate change.

The call for applications will remain open until 3 March 2023.