To help achieve its climate goals, the EU has decided to integrate, or mainstream, climate action across the entire EU budget.
EU budget 2021-2027: Commission proposal to further strengthen climate action
The EU’s 2021-2027 long-term budget, together with the NextGenerationEU recovery instrument, amounts to €2.018 trillion in current prices (€1.8 trillion in 2018 prices). This unprecedented response will help repair the economic and social damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic and aid the transition towards a modern and more sustainable Europe.
30% of the EU budget will be spent to fight climate change.
More information on the 2021-2027 long-term EU budget & NextGenerationEU
EU budget 2014-2020: Climate integrated into all spending areas
In the 2014‑2020 Multiannual Financial Framework, the Commission introduced a new ‘climate mainstreaming’ approach to help earmark financial resources for the fight against climate change. We established an overall climate spending target amounting to20% of the EU budget. During that period, the EU allocated EUR 220.8 billion to the fight against climate change, representing 20.59% of the total budget, thereby going beyond our 20% target.
- 05/2017 - Statement of estimates of the European Commission for the financial year 2018 (Preparation of the 2018 Draft Budget)
- 21/03/2017 - Council conclusions 7495/17 on the special report 31/2016, adopted by ECOFIN
- 11/2016 – European Court of Auditors' Special report No 31/2016: Spending at least one euro in every five from the EU budget on climate action: ambitious work underway, but at serious risk of falling short
- 09/2016 - Mid-term review/revision of the multiannual financial framework 2014-2020
- 08/03/2014 - Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 215/2014 of 7 March 2014 laying down rules for implementing Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and laying down general provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund with regard to methodologies for climate change support, the determination of milestones and targets in the performance framework and the nomenclature of categories of intervention for the European Structural and Investment Funds
- 19/11/2013 - An EU budget for low-carbon growth
- 08/02/2013 - European Council Conclusions of 7-8 February 2013 on MFF 2014-2020 including provision on at least 20% climate related expenditure
- 23/10/2012 - European Parliament Resolution of 23 October 2012 on MFF 2014-2020 strongly supporting the Commission’s proposal to mainstream measures to combat climate change with the aim of at least 20 % of expenditure being climate-related
- 29/06/2011 - "A budget for Europe 2020 – Part II: Policy fiches" - Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council and the Committee of the Regions
- Climate Change and Major Projects
- Integrating Climate Change Information and Adaptation in Project Development
- Tracking climate expenditure
- Climate action in ESIF - Introduction to the series of Fact Sheets on the potential for mainstreaming of climate action and the assessment hereof - ESIF - European Structural and Investment Funds - 2014-2020
- Potential for climate action - Examples of how to mainstream climate action and the potential for doing so - ERDF - European Regional Development Fund - 2014-2020
- Potential for climate action - Examples of how to mainstream climate action and the potential for doing so - CF - Cohesion Fund - 2014-2020
- Potential for climate action - Examples of how to mainstream climate action and the potential for doing so - ETC - European Territorial Cooperation under the European Regional Development Fund - 2014-2020
- Potential for climate action - Examples of how to mainstream climate action and the potential for doing so - ESF - European Social Fund - 2014-2020
- Potential for climate action - Examples of how to mainstream climate action and the potential for doing so - EAFRD - European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development - 2014-2020
- Potential for climate action - Examples of how to mainstream climate action and the potential for doing so - EMFF - European Maritime and Fisheries Fund - 2014-2020
- Assessment of climate action - How to assess the mainstreaming of climate action in Partnership Agreements – ESIF - European Structural and Investment Funds - 2014-2020
- Assessment of climate action - How to assess the mainstreaming of climate action in Operational Programmes – ERDF and CF - European Regional Development Fund and Cohesion Fund - 2014-2020
- Assessment of climate action - How to assess the mainstreaming of climate action in Operational Programmes – ETC - European Territorial Cooperation under the European Regional Development Fund - 2014-2020
- Assessment of climate action - How to assess the mainstreaming of climate action in Operational Programmes – ESF - European Social Fund - 2014-2020
- Assessment of climate action - How to assess the mainstreaming of climate action in Rural Development Programmes – EAFRD - European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development - 2014-2020
- Assessment of climate action - How to assess the mainstreaming of climate action in Operational Programmes – EMFF - European Maritime and Fisheries Fund - 2014-2020
- 09/2017 - Report: Climate mainstreaming in the EU budget: Preparing for the next MFF
- 04/2017 - Study on the mainstreaming of adaptation into the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) 2014-2020
- 13/06/2016 - Study on the mainstreaming of climate action into the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) 2014-2020
- 10/09/2015 - Study on climate mainstreaming in the programming of centrally managed EU funds