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”.