Recovery Plans not “Green” Enough, say Watchdogs

In recovery plans being submitted by member states to the European Commission to tap into the EUR 750 billion in available funds, 37% of spending must go toward green investments. Nine such plans have been approved so far by the Commission.

But some NGOs are afraid the Commission may be too lax in its approach to approving those recovery plans, allowing for fossil fuel investments, and not putting enough into those that enhance biodiversity. Simply put, the plans may not be in line with the EU’s 2030 climate target.

Specifically, the CEE Bankwatch Network, which has surveyed the draft spending plans for eight countries in Central & Eastern Europe, says those countries fail to meet the 37% green threshold, but another NGO has noted that this trend is notable for recovery plans from across Europe. Over EUR 2 billion in total is being set aside for natural gas investments in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.

Germany and Finland were the only countries to commit to more than that percentage. However, one observer points out that Germany may have “cherry-picked” to be able to fulfill the criterium.

Source: Euractiv