The energy transition will consist of a socially fair and cost-efficient process moving from fossil fuels to a clean energy system based on increased use of renewable energy sources, their systemic integration and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. It will encompass the technological, societal, economic and political dimensions of human interactions and require cross-sectorial, collaborative and practical actions to become a reality.
Europe's strategic long-term vision strongly relies on the clean energy transition to achieve a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions economy by 2050.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has chosen climate action as one of the key priorities for her mandate, aiming at making Europe the first climate-neutral continent. The European Green Deal will be the main framework to deliver bold climate actions and accelerate the transition to a clean energy future. Climate action will also be integrated into the whole EU budget, particularly the EU Research & Innovation Framework Programme Horizon Europe.
The European Commission's Communication on the European Climate Law enshrines into law the EU's climate-neutrality objective, ensuring that all EU actions and policies contribute to it in a socially fair and cost-efficient manner, with all sectors of the economy and society playing their part.
Objectives
Launched on 26 February 2025, the Clean Industrial Deal is a key initiative of the 2024–2029 EU institutional mandate. It sets out a plan to support both the competitiveness and the decarbonisation of European industry. The overarching framework focuses primarily on clean technologies and energy-intensive sectors. To foster European industrial growth, it aims to ensure:
As part of the European Green Deal, the European Commission launched on 1st February 2023 the Green Deal Industrial Plan to accelerate the development, production, and deployment of net-zero technologies across Europe over the next decade. This scheme supports the industrial transformation of the EU while fostering job creation, skills development, and the modernisation of energy-intensive sectors.
It is built on four key pillars:
Within the Plan, the EU has launched three flagship initiatives:
Following the European Green Deal launch, the European Union has taken substantial steps to promote the green transition. Since the announcement, a string of policy measures detailing the Green Deal ambitions has followed. The Fit for 55 package is the most telling example of this endeavour.
The Fit for 55 package is a set of 13 legislative proposals to revise and update EU legislation and implement new initiatives to ensure that EU policies align with the climate goals the Council and the European Parliament agreed upon. As the package's name indicates, it aims at making the EU's climate, energy, land use, transport, and taxation policies fit for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030.
REPowerEU is the European Commission's plan to make Europe independent from Russian fossil fuels well before 2030 in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The REPowerEU plan sets out a series of measures to rapidly reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels and fast forward the green transition while increasing the resilience of the EU-wide energy system. It is based on:
As such, REPowerEU addresses the multiple challenges of maintaining the EU's short-term energy security and tackling energy affordability while simultaneously maintaining its 2050 climate-neutrality targets and building robust EU strategic autonomy.
Read European Commission's factsheet on REPowerEU actions
Read EERA community's response to REPowerEU