Close Menu
    Latest Category
    • Finance
    • Tech
    • EU Law
    • Energy
    • About
    • Contact
    EUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politicsEUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politics
    Login
    • EU News
    • Focus
    • Guides
    • Press
    • Jobs
    • Events
    • Directory
    EUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politicsEUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politics
    Home » EU climate spending overstated: auditors

    EU climate spending overstated: auditors

    npsBy nps1 June 2022 Finance No Comments3 Mins Read
    — Filed under: Agriculture Environment EU News Headline2
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email
    EU climate spending overstated: auditors

    Greek LIFE support for the Prespa Lakes

    (LUXEMBOURG) – The EU missed a self-imposed target of spending at least 20 per cent of its 2014-2020 budget on climate action, according to a special report published Monday by the European Court of Auditors.

    The European Commission had announced that the EU had met the 20% target, reporting that it had spent €216 billion on climate action. However, the ECA found that the reported spending was not always relevant to climate action, and that the amount reported as having been spent for that purpose had been overstated by at least €72 billion. The auditors also fear that reliability issues could remain in the Commission’s reporting for the 2021-2027 period, when the EU’s new climate spending target will rise to 30%.

    The main areas of EU public spending programmes reported as being climate-relevant are agriculture, infrastructure and cohesion; the Commission assigns coefficients to various programme components according to their expected contribution to climate action. The reporting on climate spending is beset with weaknesses, say the auditors, which make it generally unreliable. The current tracking method is based on assumptions, they say: it does not evaluate the final contribution made towards EU climate goals, and there is no system in place for monitoring climate results. Coefficients are not always realistic: in some cases expenditure is deemed to be climate-relevant, even though the projects and schemes that it supports have little to no impact on the climate (for instance, infrastructure in rural areas). In other cases, potential negative effects are not accounted for (for example, the negative impact of carbon emissions).

    It is in agricultural funding that climate spending is overstated the most: almost €60 billion, according to the auditors. The Commission reported that 26% of EU agricultural funding was climate-relevant, about half of the EU’s total climate spending. However, farm greenhouse gas emissions in the EU have not decreased since 2010. Similarly, the auditors consider that the Commission overestimated the climate contribution of key subsectors of infrastructure and cohesion funding such as rail transport, electricity and biomass.

    By applying more reasonable coefficients, the auditors calculate that the proportion of climate-relevant spending under the EU budget is more likely to be around 13% (approximately €144 billion) rather than the reported 20%. They also warn of the risk that planned or committed amounts may not be spent, which could further inflate reported climate spending.

    The auditors also reviewed expected changes in tracking climate spending after 2020, to help the Commission improve future reporting on climate spending.

    The auditors express concerns about the reliability of 2021-2027 climate reporting. Despite the proposed improvements in reporting methods, most of the issues identified for 2014-2020 still remain. The Next Generation EU (NGEU) funding instrument, introduced in 2020, incorporates the key principle of “do no significant harm”, meaning that economic activities should not threaten environmental or climate objectives. Nevertheless, the auditors find that the NGEU brings with it additional challenges due to unclear links between payments and climate objectives.

    Climate spending in the 2014-2020 EU budget not as high as reported – Special report 09/2022

    Add A Comment
    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    You must be logged in to post a comment.

    nps
    • Website

    Related Content

    Investment - Photo by Anna Tarazevich on Pexels

    EU agrees on shorter settlement cycle for securities trading

    Brussels to postpone market risk prudential requirements under Basel III by one more year

    Euro dollar - Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels

    Euro, US dollar dominate extra-EU trade in 2024

    Mînzatu - Dombrovskis - Photo © European Union 2025

    Competitiveness and security the focus of EU’s ‘spring package’

    Euro ATM - Image by Peggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke from Pixabay

    Bulgaria cleared to join euro on 1 January 2026

    Valdis Dombrovskis - Photo © European Union 2025

    Moderate growth set to continue for EU economy in 2025: spring forecast

    LATEST EU NEWS
    Euro - ECB-Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash

    Markets breathe easier as Trump hedges on Iran-Israel conflict – Euro currency news daily

    20 June 2025
    Investment - Photo by Anna Tarazevich on Pexels

    EU agrees on shorter settlement cycle for securities trading

    18 June 2025
    Trade front loader beside intermodal containers - Photo by Chanaka on Pexels

    MEPs seal deal with Council to simplify EU carbon leakage instrument

    18 June 2025
    Health research - Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

    EU awards EUR 721m funding for cutting-edge research

    17 June 2025
    mobile-phone-Smartphone - Image by Dariusz Sankowski from Pixabay

    Brussels proposes cheap calls for Ukrainians in EU from 2026

    17 June 2025

    Subscribe to EUbusiness Week

    Get the latest EU news

    CONTACT INFO

    • EUbusiness Ltd 117 High Street, Chesham Buckinghamshire, HP5 1DE United Kingdom
    • +44(0)20 8058 8232
    • service@eubusiness.com

    INFORMATION

    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Info

    Services

    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms
    • EU News

    SOCIAL MEDIA

    Facebook
    eubusiness.com © EUbusiness Ltd 2025

    Design and developed by : 

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    Sign In or Register

    Welcome Back!

    Login to your account below.

    Lost password?