site.btaEuropean Climate Law Allows Policy Flexibility for Member States while Setting Binding Emissions Targets, Expert Says

The European Climate Law does not prescribe specific policies or measures, which allows flexibility for EU Member States and takes into account the regulatory framework for achieving the 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target, Plamen Peev, an expert in environmental and climate law and policy at the BlueLink Foundation, part of the Climate Coalition, told BTA.

The law establishes a binding European Union (EU) target for a net domestic reduction of greenhouse gas emissions of at least 55% by 2030 and provides for the setting of a climate target for 2040 within six months after the first global stocktake under the Paris Agreement, he said.

The European Climate Law has been in force since July 29, 2021, according to the website of the European Commission.

EU on the Path to Climate Neutrality

The European Climate Law aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 through all policies in a socially fair and economically efficient manner, Peev said. It also seeks to establish a system for monitoring progress and taking further action, to provide predictability for investors and other economic actors, and to ensure that the transition to climate neutrality is irreversible.

He said that the rationale behind the law stresses its role in defining the pathway to climate neutrality, including strengthening security and confidence in the EU’s commitment to this objective. Among its priorities are transparency and accountability, thereby supporting prosperity and job creation, Peev explained.

The purpose of the law is to enshrine in legislation the EU’s goal of climate neutrality by 2050 in line with scientific findings reported by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). The law also contributes to the implementation of the Paris Agreement, including its long-term objective of keeping the global temperature increase well below 2°C and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C, the expert summarized.

Bulgaria’s Climate Law

Since 2014, Bulgaria has had in force the Climate Change Mitigation Act (CCMA), which is regarded as a framework law regulating public relations and policy in the field of climate change in Bulgaria and as one of the first climate laws in Europe, Peev said. He emphasized that the law transposes EU directives and provides for the implementation of EU regulations and decisions, while at the same time establishing a framework for secondary legislation.

At the strategic level, the CCMA provides for the adoption of an Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan and a National Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change Impacts. The strategy is prepared by the Ministry of Environment and Water after consultation with the National Expert Council on Climate Change and is adopted by the Council of Ministers. In October 2019, Bulgaria adopted its National Adaptation Strategy and an Action Plan through 2030, Peev explained.

He recalled that in 2025 the law was amended, with support from the Climate Coalition, to introduce a general long-term national objective of achieving climate neutrality and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, in line with the Paris Agreement and the European Climate Law.

However, analyses by BlueLink indicate that the CCMA “very sparingly outlines” the planning framework through the scope of strategic documents and competent authorities, without regulating requirements for targets, content, and consultation processes. According to Peev, there is no process ensuring that policies are aligned with the national targets for 2030 and 2050. There is also no framework for scenario development or carbon budgeting, he added.

The law does not specify that it fulfils the requirements of EU Regulation 2018/1999 on the Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action, including a multilevel dialogue with local authorities, civil society, businesses, and investors to discuss long-term scenarios and review progress, Peev said.

He also pointed out that only a small share of the members of the National Expert Council on Climate Change at the Ministry of Environment and Water come from scientific and civil society organizations, with the majority representing ministries. He stressed the need for “a strong focus on processes for building public consensus on pathways to achieving the long-term national climate goal, as well as on public participation in the development of national climate plans through 2030”. He explained that the latter is required under EU legislation on the governance of the Energy Union and climate action.

The topic of the European Climate Law falls within the scope of a BTA project on the application of European legislation in Bulgaria.

The Ministry of Environment and Water said that, within this regulatory framework, it performs coordinating and supervisory functions with regard to national policies on decarbonization and climate adaptation.