FantasticSearch

(1) In accordance with Article 192(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), successive general environment action programmes have guided the development and coordination of Union environment policy and provided the framework for Union action in the field of the environment and climate since 1973.

(2) Decision No 1386/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council established the 7th Environment Action Programme (‘7th EAP’). The 7th EAP sets out the Union’s environmental agenda for the period up to 31 December 2020 as well as a long-term vision for 2050.

(3) The Commission report of 15 May 2019 on the evaluation of the 7th EAP concluded that the 2050 vision and priority objectives were still valid; that the 7th EAP has helped to provide more predictable, faster and better-coordinated action in environment policy and that the structure and enabling framework of the 7th EAP have helped create synergies, thus making environment policy more effective and efficient. Moreover, it concluded that the 7th EAP anticipated the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (‘UN 2030 Agenda’) by its insistence that economic growth and social well-being depend on a healthy natural resource base, facilitated delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and enabled the Union to speak with one voice on the global stage on climate and environmental matters, but that progress related to nature protection, health and integrating environmental concerns into other policy areas was not sufficient. It also concluded that there could have been more consideration of social issues in the 7th EAP, by building on the existing links between environment and social policy, as regards, for example, the impact on vulnerable groups, jobs, social inclusion and inequality. Moreover, the Commission report noted that, despite increasingly ambitious environmental targets in many policy domains, spending on environmental protection had remained constant in Europe over many years (approximately 2 % of GDP) and that the failure to implement environmental legislation costs the Union economy around EUR 55 000 000 000 each year in health costs and in direct costs to the environment. The Commission report noted that the 7th EAP’s implementation could have been reinforced by a stronger monitoring mechanism.

(4) According to the European Environment Agency (EEA) in its report ‘The European environment – state and outlook 2020, Knowledge for transition to a sustainable Europe’ (‘SOER 2020’), there is a unique window of opportunity for the Union in the next decade to show global leadership on sustainability by tackling the urgent sustainability challenges that require systemic solutions. Systemic change entails a fundamental, transformative and cross-cutting form of change that implies major shifts and reorientation in system goals, incentives, technologies, social practices and norms, as well as in knowledge systems and governance approaches. As stated in SOER 2020, one of the most important factors underlying Europe’s persistent environmental and sustainability challenges is that they are inextricably linked to economic activities and lifestyles, in particular the societal systems that provide Europeans with necessities such as food, energy and mobility. Ensuring policy coherence with, and full implementation of, existing environmental policies would take Europe a long way to achieving its environmental goals up to 2030 and achieving the UN 2030 Agenda and its SDGs.

(5) The Commission responded to the challenges identified in SOER 2020 by adopting the communication of 11 December 2019 entitled ‘The European Green Deal’, a new growth strategy for the twin green and digital transition that aims to transform the Union into a fair and prosperous society, with a sustainable, competitive, climate-neutral and resource-efficient economy, and to protect, conserve and enhance the Union’s natural capital whilst improving the quality of life of current and future generations. Swiftly achieving climate and environmental targets while protecting the health and well-being of people from environmental risks and impacts and ensuring a just and inclusive transition should be the priority. Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council enshrines in law the Union target to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest.

(6) In its resolution of 28 November 2019 on the climate and environment emergency, the European Parliament underlined that immediate and ambitious action is crucial and urged the Commission to take concrete action, including by ensuring that all relevant future legislative and budgetary proposals are fully aligned with the objective of limiting global warming to under 1,5 °C and that they are not contributing to biodiversity loss, and by addressing inconsistencies of current Union policies on the climate and environment emergency, in particular through a far-reaching reform of its agricultural, trade, transport, energy and infrastructure investment policies.

(7) The European Green Deal underpins the Next Generation EU Recovery Plan, which promotes investment in sectors which are key for the green and digital transition, in order to build resilience and create growth and jobs in a fair and inclusive society. The Recovery and Resilience Facility, which will power the Union’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, together with the Union budget for 2021-2027, is also based on the priority objectives set out in the European Green Deal. Furthermore, all initiatives under the Next Generation EU Recovery Plan are to respect, where applicable, the ‘do no significant harm’ principle as set out in Article 17 of Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council (the ‘Taxonomy Regulation’). The Next Generation EU Recovery Plan offers an important opportunity to accelerate the pace of transition towards climate neutrality and the protection of the environment.

(8) The 7th EAP expired on 31 December 2020 and Article 4(3) thereof required the Commission, if appropriate, to present a proposal for an Eighth Environment Action Programme (‘8th EAP’) in a timely manner with a view to avoiding a gap between the 7th and the 8th EAP. In its communication on the European Green Deal, the Commission announced that the 8th EAP would include a new monitoring mechanism to ensure that the Union remains on track to meet its environmental objectives.

(9) In accordance with Article 192(3) TFEU, the 8th EAP sets priority objectives to be attained. The measures necessary for the implementation of the 8th EAP are to be adopted under Article 192(1) or (2) TFEU.

(10) The measures which implement the 8th EAP, such as initiatives, programmes, investments, projects and agreements, should take into consideration the ‘do no significant harm’ principle laid down in Article 17 of the Taxonomy Regulation.

(11) The 8th EAP should support the objectives of the European Green Deal in line with the long-term objective to live well, within the planetary boundaries by 2050 at the latest, in line with what has been already established in the 7th EAP. The 8th EAP, as the overall Union Environment Action Programme running until 2030, goes beyond the European Green Deal. The priority objectives of the 8th EAP set out a direction for Union policymaking, building on, but not limited to, the commitments of the strategies and initiatives of the European Green Deal, such as the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the new Circular Economy Action Plan, the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability and the Zero Pollution Action Plan.

(12) The Paris Agreement adopted under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (the ‘Paris Agreement’) aims to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change, including by holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1,5 °C above pre-industrial levels, recognising that this would significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change.

(13) The 8th EAP forms the basis for attaining the environment and climate-related objectives defined under the UN 2030 Agenda and its SDGs, and should be aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement, the Rio Conventions and other relevant international agreements. The 8th EAP enables a systemic change to a Union economy that ensures well-being within planetary boundaries where growth is regenerative and should also ensure that the green transition is achieved in a just and inclusive way, whilst contributing to reducing inequalities. According to a model developed by the Stockholm Resilience Centre, the achievement of the environmental- and climate-related SDGs underpins the social and economic SDGs because our societies and economies depend on a healthy biosphere and because sustainable development can only take place within the safe operating space of a stable and resilient planet. Achievement of the SDGs by the Union and its support for third countries to do the same will be essential if the Union is to demonstrate global leadership in achieving sustainability transitions.

(14) Action to achieve the Union’s environmental and climate objectives needs to be carried out in line with the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights.

(15) Pursuant to Article 191(2) TFEU, Union policy on the environment is to aim at a high level of protection, taking into account the diversity of situations in the various regions of the Union, and is to be based on the precautionary principle and on the principles that preventive action should be taken, that environmental damage should, as a priority, be rectified at source, and that the polluter should pay.