As part of our project with the BlueLink Foundation, ECCO, and the Ecologic Institute, we aimed to improve the public consultations required for National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs).

We developed a methodology to evaluate how well the just transition aspects were addressed in the updated NECPs.

Most countries submitted their NECPs with a significant delay. Preliminary versions of the NECPs were due by the end of June 2023, but none of the countries we analysed met the deadline. For example, Germany submitted their plan in November 2023.

We have published our analysis of the preliminary plans for Germany, Bulgaria, Italy and Poland in spring 2024 and have noted several shortcomings. All evaluated drafts of the updated NECPs inadequately address the territorial dimensions of a just transition, largely overlooking the most affected territories. In terms of distributional aspects, the plans fail to adequately acknowledge vulnerable consumers, aging populations, the role of women, and low-income households. Furthermore, there is a notable deficiency in information regarding the financing of policy measures and potential funding sources. Among these issues, energy poverty is the only aspect that has received significant attention. These studies can be found on our website at the following link.

The final versions of the documents were due by June 30, 2024. Several countries presented updated plans, but apart from Italy, none of them met the deadline again. Poland only reeased its plan in October 2024. As part of our review, we will assess whether European governments have considered feedback from public consultations. We will also check whether the European Commission's recommendations were included.

With the final NECPs now available, we are able to compare earlier analyses and recommendations with the final results and we will gradually be posting our reports. The assesment report for the Italian NECP is available below.