Summer holidays may be calling, but Brussels clearly didn’t get the out-of-office memo. Just as everyone’s eyeing the beach, the Commission dropped a fresh batch of public consultations, notably on the 2040 climate target where things are already heating up.
Simplification of administrative burdens in environmental legislation: On 22 July, the Commission opened a call for contributions on the content of the future omnibus on the simplification of administrative burdens in environmental legislations. The consultation will be open until 10 September.
Waste Framework Directive (WFD) – Question for written answer: On 16 July, MEP Sand Smith (EPP, The Netherlands) submitted a question for written answer to the Commission on the proposed Dutch waste treatment tax and its compatibility with the self-sufficient principle in the WFD.
REACH simplification: On 24 July, several industry associations (such as CEPE, MPE, ICA and FEA) addressed a letter to Commissioners Séjourné, Roswall and Secretary-General Juhansone. The letter states that they still have concerns regarding key aspects of the REACH simplification.
European Climate Law amendment: On 21 July, the European Commission launched a public consultation on the European Climate Law amendment that will be open 15 September. This initiative will amend the European Climate Law to include the 2040 climate target, and aims to put the the EU on a path towards climate neutrality by 2050.
European climate resilience and risk management: On 24 July, the European Commission launched a public consultation on European climate resilience and risk management. The initiative aims to find an integrated framework to support EU countries in ensuring that the action taken measures up to the scale of the challenges. It is open until 4 September.
Carbon removal and carbon farming: The Commission has published a draft delegated regulation under the Carbon Removals Regulation to establish the methodologies to certify carbon removal activities in which CO2 captured from the atmosphere is permanently stored. The draft is open for public consultation until 22 September.
Integrating Greenhouse Gas Removals in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme: On 21 July, the UK government published a main response on integrating greenhouse gas removals in the UK emissions trading scheme. The response explains that in July 2023 the UK ETS Authority committed to integrating engineered removals into the UK ETS.
Renewable Energy Directive (RED): On 24 July, the European Commission announced that it had decided to open infringement procedures by sending letters of formal notice to 26 Member States (every EU Member except for Denmark) for failing to communicate to the European Commission the full transposition of the provisions of the RED III into national law, which was dure for May 2025.
Energy-intensive industries – Common declaration: France, Austria, Spain, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic have published a common declaration on reinforcing European energy-intensive industries. The declaration calls for the optimization of the function of the European carbon markets to ensure the stability of the carbon price under the Emissions trading system as well as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.
Critical Raw Materials Act: On 22 July, the European Commission published a public consultation on the Critical Raw Materials Act, notably the Commission Implementing Act establishing a strategic project application template. The Critical Raw Materials Regulation required the Commission to adopt, no later than November 2024, an implementing act establishing this application template.
Joint EU-China press statement on climate: On 24 July, for the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the European Union (EU) and the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the Paris Agreement, the EU and China copublished a statement in which they commit to submitting before COP30 their respective 2035 NDCs ‘covering all economic sectors and all greenhouse gases’.
Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change – International Court of Justice: On 23 July, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) published a Advisory Opinion and responded to the questions posed by the General Assembly (on 29 March 2023) on the obligations of States in respect of climate change.
Green Claims Directive: Concerned about the fate of the Green Claims Directive, around 30 organisations (companies, advertising sector organisations, certification bodies and NGOs such as Client Earth, ACT Climate Labs, ecos, EEB) wrote on 17 July to the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, and to the environment minister, Magnus Johannes Heunicke urging them to resume negotiations on the file.
Foreign Subsidies Regulation Guidelines (FSR Guidelines): On 18 July, the European Commission launched a public consultation on a draft of the Guidelines on the implementation of the FSR Guidelines.
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