Web-version of the briefing

Our analysis shows that most countries in central and eastern Europe are not committed to an ambitious energy transformation and instead stay as close as possible to business as usual scenarios. Moreover, the development of nuclear energy as a primary source of decarbonised electricity and the widespread use of biomass as a renewable energy solution highlight a pattern of minimal efforts and an avoidance of the necessary measures to really develop clean energy sources and energy efficiency measures. In many cases, measures to phase-out coal (if any) are supported by a switch to gas, and the NECPs generally do not contain a real assessment of the investment needs to achieve these 2030 objectives.

The development of the NECPs are a learning process, and the plans will not be finalised until the end of 2019. With all Member States now having submitted their draft plans to the Commission, it is crucial to focus on their improvement and implementation, as there are not many other opportunities to get right the EU’s framework on climate and energy for 2030 and therefore place Europe on a path in line with the Paris Agreement and the 2050 Long Term Strategy.