PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
The EU 2030 climate and energy policy framework aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% compared to 1990 levels. However, reductions are projected to fall far short at only 26% to 29%. Implementation of climate legislation in Member States is uneven and inadequate, particularly with regards to the Effort Sharing Decision and the Monitoring Mechanism Regulation. Moreover, awareness of EU 2030 and 2050 climate policy goals is too low.
EU countries were to finalise drafts of their national 2030 energy and climate plans (NECPs) for 2021-2030 by 2019 and then to update them by 2024. In many countries, the NECP process had not even started at the beginning of the PlanUp project period. The lack of stakeholder engagement showed an insufficient knowledge and understanding for the goals of the EU legislation. Five focal countries (Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, and Spain) and the three non-emissions trading system (ETS) sectors agriculture, buildings, and transport were selected for their potential to be improved at national level and for possible replication in other Central, East and South European countries.
OBJECTIVES
The overall objective of LIFE PlanUP was:
To build-up a multi-stakeholder platform for inclusive and ambitious 2030 climate plans. The project was to develop resources and capacity to broaden meaningful participation in moving towards a low carbon and resilient economy in the five selected countries. The aim was to strengthen consultation processes, develop and implement effective national NECPs, and improve climate governance.
Specifically, the project aimed to:
- Develop and implement climate policies, fostered by a dialogue between NGOs and local authorities (LRAs), coordinated by LIFE PlanUP: A multi-stakeholder platform for inclusive and ambitious 2030 climate plans platform (by 2020);
- Draw up NECPs in the five countries as effective drivers for decarbonisation (by 2021), replicate best practices and utilise quantitative modelling tools;
- Increase stakeholder involvement (e.g. NGOs and LRAs) in order to strengthen climate governance processes within the NECP processes (by 2021);
- Disseminate the project outcomes and replicate them in other EU countries (mainly via the LIFE PlanUP website: A multi-stakeholder platform for inclusive and ambitious 2030 climate plans, but as well via the Covenant of Mayors association and other civil society umbrella groups).
RESULTS
LIFE PlanUp helped local and regional authorities (LRA) and civil society organisations (CSO) to engage in processes for formulating the 2030 national energy and climate plans (NECPs). The focus was on five EU Member States: Italy, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Spain. Furthermore, it addressed the non-ETS sectors of agriculture, buildings, and transportation. The project delivered an important contribution to the NECP processes in the focus countries, even though not everywhere with the same impact.
The project team delivered several elaborated assessments of the national NECPs. A key outcome was the assessments called “Last chance: How to strengthen the [country name] energy and climate plan”. Furthermore, the five “progress checks” provided detailed information on shortcomings in national policy implementation, improvements to reduce CO2 emissions in targeted sectors, and calculations on whether the 2030 goals will be achieved.
Multi-level meetings and discussions were initiated around the NECP process, including for stakeholder participating for the first time. LIFE PlanUp outputs empowered national affiliates and gave them legitimacy and confidence in their advocacy work, knowing that the measures and recommendations being proposed had been assessed as best practice and were successfully operational in other Member States. They helped national affiliates to engage in constructive solution-oriented dialogue, including with CSOs and LRAs.
The project team delivered regional good practice booklets for the Central-Eastern and the South-Eastern European regions, as well as for each focus country, in the relevant national languages.
In addition to national level, the results are also relevant at EU level as this project transformed to some extent an EU-level policy into a real multi-level EU-policymaking process that enabled local and regional authorities as well civil society actors to participate. The final NECP assessment report provides a good overview of the challenges and issues regarding stakeholder participation in the NECP processes. Of particular note in this regard is the comprehensive report on the roundtable event with ministry officials from various countries.
The website (www.PlanUp.eu) was the main communication tool, with a reported 21,000 visits by 9,522 individuals. The project featured in several newspaper editorials and in other publications, reaching an estimated 110,000 people. By project end, the social media accounts were followed by 1,248 people.
A new online GHG-emission modelling tool was developed: the Pathways Explorer (pathwaysexplorer.climact.com). This tool was based on EUCalc, with additional functionalities and granularity. It is being maintained beyond the project lifetime, and will be used for energy and emissions analysis in countries beyond the Member Statesthat PlanUp focused on.
Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report and After-LIFE Communication Plan (see "Read more" section).
