Discussion with 

• Faustine Bas-Defossez, Policy Director for Nature, Health and Environment, European Environmental Bureau (EEB) 

• Thomas Kralinski, Director-General of Department for National and European Climate Action, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN)  

• Niels Schuster, Policy Assistant to the Director-General for Climate Action, European Commission 

Is climate action at a point of decline in Europe? What is needed to make the EU stick with its strong climate targets and actually meet them? These questions were addressed from the diverse perspectives of German national policy, the EU administration, and civil society. This discussion was timely and, indeed, overdue, because previously agreed climate action is now being called into question while the EU is seeking to balance climate ambition with economic, social and geopolitical priorities, allowing for a higher degree of flexibility.  

“Climate policy is happening on the ground and initiatives like EUKI are very important.”  
Niels Schuster, DG CLIMA, European Commission 

According to Niels Schuster, the European Commission as a whole still takes climate policy very seriously. In this context he commended EUKI’s work and noted that it is closely followed in Brussels, describing EUKI as a particularly well-suited initiative. The European Green Deal and the target of climate neutrality by 2050 continue to guide the future European transformation agenda. He sees this predictability as extremely important. In his view, supply chains are vulnerable and Europeans pay a lot for their dependency on fossil fuels. He said: “With the Green Industrial Deal, the European Commission supports the development of clean technologies in Europe. The Accelerator Act, the 2040 Package and the reform of the ETS provide stability. And we have to give back the revenues of 260 billion euros from the ETS to industry so that it can invest in Europe and create jobs.” 

“Initiatives like EUKI are really, really important. They are closely watched from Brussels. We are really happy about the work that you are doing.”  
Niels Schuster 

For Thomas Kralinski, translating EU policy more effectively into action on the ground – in a very practical manner – is key. With rising fuel prices and falling prices of electric vehicles, people are starting to understand the advantages of electric mobility, he said. Germany is using a funding scheme to make it easier for lower-income households to afford electric vehicles. However, he also notices some scepticism about climate-friendly technology coming to the fore.  

With her environmental civil society perspective, Faustine Bas-Defossez pointed in a different direction: “We should not forget that we will not meet our climate targets without also tackling the pollution crisis and the nature crisis. Nature is a shield against climate change,” she said. However, biodiversity loss, resource consumption and accelerating climate risks continue to threaten long-term stability. She also warned that the European Commission’s Omnibus packages are weakening existing environmental standards, including the Water Framework Directive and the Birds and Habitats Directives. This and the lack of proper consultation with civil society are very concerning. Her advice: Tackle the root causes, which are a lack of capacities, a lack of investment, and policy incoherence. In addition, she called on the European institutions to protect civil society organisations, which are increasingly under attack from massive misinformation campaigns at both the European and the national level. 

Niels Schuster believes that Europe is capable of simplifying rules without weakening climate policy. While he does not see problems with overwhelming bureaucracy in climate policy, he acknowledged that there is a fine line before cutting red tape goes too far. He recalled that the situation today differs from 2019, when the Green Deal was agreed, and called for climate action to be incentivised, leading to a win-win situation. “We have to accept election results and that many people in Parliament don’t consider climate change a priority. So we need to change our narrative and find solutions together with industry. We have to focus on job creation, electrification and economic growth,” he said.  

“It’s a clear business case: The costs of inaction are higher than investing in a green transition. However, the shift to renewables should not be at the cost of biodiversity and nature.”  
Faustine Bas-Defossez 

The success of reframing climate action from a cost factor to a driver of resilience, energy sovereignty, industrial strength and security can already be seen on the ground, said Thomas Kralinski. He underlined that sales of electric vehicles, for example, are doubling in Germany. Faustine Bas-Defossez added that it is a clear business case that the costs of investing in a green transition are lower than the costs of inaction. The main priority should therefore be to tackle misinformation.  

During the discussion, participants from Central and Eastern Europe called for the democratisation of the European energy system. They highlighted the need for the European Commission to ensure that mechanisms are effective for the broader population and no one is left behind, particularly in the Western Balkans and in countries where climate scepticism is more common. Consequently, the climate narrative should be “re-hijacked” from far-right actors to prove how the green transition improves the lives of Europeans.