National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP): Germany’s Contribution to the European Climate Goals

What are the NECPs?

Integrated National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) are reports that all EU Member States must submit to the European Commission every five years, starting in June 2024.

In its NECP, each Member State outlines which measures have already been implemented to achieve EU climate targets and which are still planned. This ensures transparency regarding whether national actions are sufficient to meet the EU’s climate and energy goals. The content and preparation of NECPs are governed by the EU Governance Regulation.

The European Commission reviews and evaluates the plans in light of the EU’s international commitments. NECPs also legally require extensive public consultations and regular exchanges with neighbouring countries. The public accessibility of the reports gives European civil society the opportunity to hold Member States accountable.

What does Germanwatch do?

Germanwatch has been involved in the NECP updating process since 2019. As part of the ‘Plan4Climate’, ‘Together for 1.5’, and ‘Unify’ projects, Germanwatch has contributed in the following ways:

• Germanwatch has advocated for ambitious climate targets, measures, and strategies in Germany’s NECP together with other civil society organisations.
• Germanwatch has demanded that the standards for effective public participation required by the Governance Regulation are upheld. Germanwatch coordinated the involvement of civil society organisations in available participation formats and created a checklist to access compliance with the requirements.
• Germanwatch is now monitoring the implementation of the NECP and compiling recommendations for improvement to be considered in the next NECP revision. In this work, Germanwatch draws on a wide range of cross-sector expertise and relevant projects.
• Together with other civil society organisations, Germanwatch assessed the draft German NECP and submitted input and recommendations to the European Commission ahead of its official guidance.
• Germanwatch is working to increase public transparency in the development and implementation of German and EU climate targets. As part of the ‘Together for 1.5’ project, Germanwatch, together with other organisations, developed a tracker tool for national energy and climate targets and published a comprehensive assessment of the updated German NECP.
• Germanwatch has filed a complaint with the European Commission due to numerous shortcomings and deviations from targets in the final NECP, with the goal of initiating an infringement procedure against Germany.
• Germanwatch analysed how the final NECPs of ten Member States meet EU requirements for a socially just transition to a climate-neutral economy. In collaboration with CAN Europe, Germanwatch also published a comprehensive report on the overall implementation of the final NECPs from 19 Member States.
• Germanwatch is analysing how the next EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF 2028–2034) can support NECP implementation. In this context, Germanwatch will release a report on March 16 on ensuring a fair transition to climate neutrality through the National-Regional Partnership Plans (NRPPs), the main source of climate finance in the next MFF.

• Systematic monitoring of Germany’s NECP (2021–2030): The project analyses the implementation of national energy and climate targets to identify options for improving the NECPs (2031–2040) and to increase transparency regarding Germany’s progress. This analysis is also conducted in 12 other EU Member States to highlight and compare best practices.
• Strengthening NECPs as a tool for climate action: From a civil society perspective, the project develops proposals to improve NECPs, including potential adjustments to the Governance Regulation. The findings contribute to the design of the next EU Financial Framework (2028–2034) in order to optimise conditions for future NECPs.
• Capacity building for civil society actors: The project supports active involvement of NGOs and other stakeholders in shaping ambitious climate measures for the German NECP (2031–2040).
• Social impacts of climate measures: Special attention is given to assessing and mitigating social consequences, for example by monitoring Germany’s Social Climate Plan and just transition strategies.

The project runs until August 2028.