PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
According to the latest science, despite the EU’s increased climate and energy targets, the Union is still falling short of reaching the 1.5°C objective of the Paris Agreement. However, a number of policy opportunities in the period 2022-2025 might help the EU step up its game, if they are designed in an inclusive way and supported by a wide range of stakeholders and citizens.
OBJECTIVES
The LIFE TogetherFor1.5 project aims to align the EU’s climate action with the 1.5°C objective of the Paris Agreement. This will be achieved by building on climate and energy policy revision opportunities, namely the Fit for 55 legislative package, National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) and national Long-Term Strategies (LTS), and increasing the public acceptance of more and inclusive climate action by showing its societal and economic co-benefits.
The project team, comprising 13 national civil society organisations (CSOs) and CAN-E, will firstly focus on raising awareness of the co-benefits of climate action. This will ensure that decision-makers take informed decisions while finalising the Fit for 55 Package and other ambitious EU climate and energy policies, and that these are accepted by stakeholders and citizens. Secondly, the project team will target the revision of NECPs in 2023–2024 and promote ambitious targets, policies and measures, along with well-designed public participation processes. Thirdly, all project partners will monitor the implementation of NECPs to identify policy opportunities and gaps that can be addressed in their revisions. Finally, the project team will monitor the 2040 climate target proposal, as well as the potential revision of national LTS.
RESULTS
Expected results:
- The key impact will be increased awareness of decision-makers in 13 countries and at the EU level on the co-benefits of climate action, and the need to align the ambition of the Fit for 55 package and the new 2040 target with the 1.5°C objective of the Paris Agreement.
- National and EU decision-makers will be better informed about the gaps in current NECPs and in their implementation, as well as about the opportunities this framework offers to develop more ambitious national climate action.
- Decision-makers will take the requests of civil society in NECPs and national LTS revision processes into account, thus improving revised documents. This is expected to lead to an increased consistency between short and longer term policies.
- The CSOs will have increased capacities to voice their concerns in an effective manner and gain effective access to the national policy-making processes.
