Introduction

The European Union’s auditing agency warned on Monday that there may not be enough funding to meet the bloc’s ambitious climate targets.

Political Infighting in the EU

The Board of Auditors’ warning comes as the bloc of 27 countries is already struggling to live up to its image as the world leader in the fight for climate neutrality due to political infighting in the European Union’s legislature to take action to protect the environment.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Not Included in Lists

In the 63-page report, the council also noted that the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, has not included all greenhouse gas emissions in its lists, which could have led to overly optimistic statistics. According to the Associated Press, the report’s authors also found some of the commission’s reports to be very opaque.

Funding Findings

In terms of funding findings, the council said 30% of the 2021-2027 budget will be spent on climate change, or about 87 billion euros ($95 billion) annually.

“This amount is less than 10% of the total investment required to achieve the goals until 2030, which are estimated at about 1 trillion euros annually,” the report says.

The auditors complained that they “have no information that sufficient funding will be provided to meet the targets by 2030, especially from the private sector.”

Targets for 2030

The auditors noted that the targets for 2030 are more ambitious and said they “so far find little indication that these targets will be translated into adequate action.”

The European Union’s Position

The report puts the European Union in a difficult position. On Tuesday, a European Parliament committee will vote on the nature restoration plan that has divided the bloc so much. The plan is part of a much larger project to make the European Union climate neutral by 2050.

This includes a wide range of measures, from reducing energy consumption to drastically reducing transport emissions and reforming the EU’s greenhouse gas trading system.

The European Commission has said it wants all measures to be linked to optimal effect.