EU climate action: risk of overstating climate spending without a reliable tracking method

The Commission made a commitment, for the 2014-2020 period, to spend at least one euro in every five (20 %) of the EU budget on climate action. It has now raised this target to 25 % (one euro in every four) for the 2021-2027 period. According to a new review by the European Court of Auditors, setting such targets can be an effective step towards achieving the EU’s climate objectives, as long as the methodology used to track the money is robust and applied consistently across policy areas.

Tackling climate change is a high priority for the EU. Rather than creating a dedicated funding instrument to address climate change, the Commission opted to set a target for the percentage of the EU budget to be spent on climate action. In this context, tracking climate-related spending means measuring the financial contribution made to climate objectives by different EU funding sources, and assessing whether these spending targets have been met.

“We all want a genuinely greener EU budget”, said Joëlle Elvinger, the member of the European Court of Auditors responsible for the review. “Progress has been made, but the risk of overestimating EU climate action remains. Looking ahead to the post-2020 period, to the Commission’s Green Deal and the more ambitious target of 25 %, we need reliable reporting on climate-related spending”.

Press Release: EU climate action: risk of overstating climate spending without a reliable tracking method, say auditors