{"id":6964,"date":"2023-06-20T08:54:51","date_gmt":"2023-06-20T05:54:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/kmru\/?p=6964"},"modified":"2023-06-20T08:55:12","modified_gmt":"2023-06-20T05:55:12","slug":"the-eu-needs-to-constitutionalise-climate-policy-to-stabilise-the-climate-transition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/cceel\/the-eu-needs-to-constitutionalise-climate-policy-to-stabilise-the-climate-transition\/","title":{"rendered":"The EU needs to constitutionalise climate policy to stabilise the climate transition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Kati Kulovesi<\/a><\/strong>, Professor of International Law and Sebastian Oberth\u00fcr<\/a><\/strong>, Professor of Environmental Policy and Law. First published in the GreenDeal-NET blog on 19 June<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the European Commission has launched public consultations on the EU\u2019s intermediary climate target for 2040, mounting calls for a pause in implementing the European Green Deal risk derailing progress. To politically and societally anchor and stabilise the EU\u2019s climate transition, the EU must, in addition to advancing substantive climate policies, upgrade its quasi-constitutional framework for making and implementing climate policy, argue Sebastian Oberth\u00fcr and Kati Kulovesi.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climate change mitigation resembles a marathon, and the EU is not even halfway towards reaching its 2050 climate neutrality target.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Fit for 55<\/em> climate legislation package for reducing emissions by at least 55% by 2030 is currently being wrapped up. The next crucial milestone on the pathway towards climate neutrality is the EU\u2019s 2040 climate target, for which the European Commission has initiated public consultations<\/a>, open until June 24. Reaching it will require further upgrades to the EU\u2019s climate policy. At the same time, calls for a pause in the implementation of the European Green Deal<\/a> are intensifying and illustrate the high contentiousness of the climate and sustainability transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To successfully implement this transition, the EU and its Member States must therefore not only continue to advance substantive policies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions but also significantly strengthen climate governance: the quasi-constitutional framework for making and implementing climate policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This requires addressing the fundamental legitimacy and accountability issues of the climate policymaking marathon to ensure ownership and support of the climate transition by European citizens across the Union.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The contours of such a climate governance framework have sharpened under the European Green Deal, with the 2018 Regulation on the Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action<\/a> and the 2021 European Climate Law<\/a> as key elements. But much more work lies ahead to ensure that EU climate governance is capable of steering European societies authoritatively and legitimately through the marathon of the climate transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Six key pillars to upgrade the EU\u2019s climate governance framework<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

We propose an upgraded climate governance framework<\/a> that rests on the following six main pillars:<\/p>\n\n\n\n