16 October 2023, 21:35
The EU Council today approved the submission of an updated nationally determined contribution (NDC) of the EU and its member states to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This document replaces the previous submission, dated 17 December 2020, and will be considered the current NDC of the EU and its member states.
The EU’s updated NDC submission was prepared in light of the adoption of all the essential elements of the ‘Fit for 55’ legislative package, which will result in the EU cutting its net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 55% by 2030 (compared to 1990 levels). Through the updated NDC, the EU and its member states reiterate their commitment to this legally binding target.
’With our updated NDC submission, we are sending a strong signal for our partners to follow us in the path towards a climate-neutral future. The EU and its member states are committed to their climate ambitions. We are ready to do our part to address the global climate crisis.
Teresa Ribera Rodríguez, acting Spanish third vice-president and minister for the ecological transition and the demographic challenge
In the updated NDC, the EU recalls the steps leading up to it, from the ratification of the Paris Agreement in October 2016, when the then NDC contained a GHG reduction target of at least 40% by 2030 (compared to 1990 levels). Following the guidance of the European Council given on 11 December 2020, the EU submitted an updated NDC containing an enhanced reduction target of at least 55%. This target was then established as legally binding through the European Climate Law, adopted on 30 June 2021.
The Council also provides an overview of the main domestic policies adopted in line with the new climate target agreed in December 2020, including the revision of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), the Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR), and the regulation on land-use related emissions and removals (LULUCF), as well as all the essential elements of the ‘Fit for 55’ package. In this context, according to the Commission’s estimates, the full implementation of the ‘Fit for 55’ legislative framework could enable the EU and its member states to overachieve the EU’s net domestic reduction of GHG emissions target of at least 55% compared to 1990 by 2030.
The updated NDC includes the information necessary for clarity, transparency and understanding (ICTU) outlining all the elements of the NDC.
Background
NDCs are an integral part of the Paris Agreement, Article 4(9) of which requires all parties to communicate their post-2020 climate actions, starting in 2020 and every five years thereafter. On this basis, the EU and its member states submitted an updated and enhanced NDC on 17 December 2020, replacing the first NDC submitted in 2015 as an intended NDC.
NDCs set out the efforts made by each country to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. The EU submits an NDC on behalf of the EU and its member states.