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The report argues that while not explicitly stated, the Ambient Air Quality Directive (AAQD) grants EU citizens a right to air quality within legal limit values. It identifies significant barriers to justice in several Member States and advocates for the use of the Francovich doctrine to allow individuals to seek compensation for health damages. ClientEarth recommends that the European Commission explicitly codify this individual right in the revised AAQD, introduce coercive remedies for non-compliance, and alleviate the burden of proof for claimants seeking damages.

A small number of countries, primarily Turkey, Ukraine, and those in the Western Balkans, are responsible for the majority of coal power air pollution in Europe. Ukraine dominates PM10 emissions, while Turkey leads in NOx pollution. The report highlights that most of the most polluting plants are over 30 years old, though Turkey is an exception with some young plants among the top polluters. Many Energy Community countries failed to meet 2019 emission ceilings, and the report argues that subsidies and rehabilitation costs should instead be redirected toward the region's significant renewable energy potential.

Reclaim Finance asserts that the EU sustainable taxonomy's climate mitigation and adaptation criteria have been watered down due to pressure from Member states and industry lobbies. The author claims the current proposal allows for the burning of all forest biomass and creates pathways for fossil gas and nuclear energy to be labeled as sustainable, thereby undermining the EU Sustainable Finance Strategy and contradicting scientific research.

Reclaim Finance criticizes the European Commission's 2021 delegated acts for the EU sustainable taxonomy, claiming that political and industrial pressure has overridden scientific criteria. The author asserts that the current framework allows for greenwashing by adopting weak bioenergy standards and leaving the door open for fossil gas and nuclear energy, which the author argues are incompatible with the Paris Agreement goals.

The EU's Just Transition Mechanism is a three-pillar framework designed to mitigate socio-economic disruptions caused by the transition to net-zero emissions by 2050. It focuses on regions dependent on coal, lignite, peat, and oil shale, providing a combination of grants and loans to support economic diversification, reskilling, and infrastructure. While the mechanism requires national Territorial Just Transition Plans for funding, challenges remain regarding the fund's size, the inclusion of social partners in governance, and the alignment of member state climate targets with EU goals.

ClientEarth argues that the IED revision must shift from a static, activity-based approach to one that promotes the industrial activity with the least environmental impact for a given service. The organization advocates for expanding the IED's scope to include mining, upstream oil and gas, and aquaculture, while making greenhouse gas (GHG) emission limit values and energy efficiency standards binding, even for installations covered by the EU ETS. Key recommendations include restricting Article 15(4) derogations to a maximum of 48 months, introducing a right to compensation for victims of pollution, and strengthening Aarhus Convention rights through periodic permit renewals every four years and mandatory public participation for all permit updates.

The LIFE-A2J-EARL project focused on bridging the 'implementation gap' of EU environmental laws by empowering the judiciary, public administrations, and public interest lawyers. Operating across eight EU Member States, the project produced a comprehensive legal guide, national toolkits, and a digital platform to facilitate access to justice. It delivered 48 training sessions and 12 webinars, reaching over 2,000 participants. Despite delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and shifting judicial attitudes in some regions, the project successfully increased stakeholder awareness of the Aarhus Convention and EU case-law. Key outputs included a database of 117 public interest lawyers from 15 countries and a final virtual conference attended by 285 participants.

In 2020, renewables generated 38% of the EU's electricity, surpassing fossil-fired generation (37%) for the first time. This shift was driven primarily by wind and solar, while coal generation fell by 20% to 13% of the total mix. However, the report notes that the transition remains too slow to meet 2030 and 2050 climate targets, as gas generation remains high and nuclear output saw a record 10% decline.

The report provides a comprehensive overview of European CO2 storage capacity, highlighting the North Sea Basin and the Norwegian shelf as the most prospective areas. It details storage potentials in saline aquifers, hydrocarbon fields, and storage reservoirs across various European regions, while also mapping stationary emission sources, noting that power generation is the dominant emitting sector.

The report finds that while renewable electricity generation in the EU is projected to nearly double by 2030, the current National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) are insufficient to meet the EU Commission's recommended 55% emissions reduction target. Seven countries—Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Romania—are identified as the primary barriers, collectively projected to be responsible for 80% of the EU's power sector emissions by 2030 due to continued reliance on coal and fossil gas.

ClientEarth argues that EU competition policy must be reshaped to internalise environmental externalities and support the Green Deal. The organization calls for an end to state aid for fossil fuels, a more holistic 'consumer welfare' test in antitrust and merger assessments that includes future generations, and increased transparency in state aid decision-making. It specifically recommends prohibiting aid to forestry biomass and fossil-based hydrogen, while introducing a 'green bonus' to incentivize truly sustainable innovation.

The report finds that while renewable electricity generation in the EU is projected to nearly double by 2030, the region is not on track to meet the European Commission's recommended 55% emissions reduction. Seven countries—Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Romania—are identified as the primary barriers to the transition, collectively accounting for 80% of projected 2030 power sector emissions.

The report finds that 11 of 18 EU coal-using countries lack Paris-compatible phase-out plans, with seven not planning to exit coal by 2030 and four replacing coal with increased fossil gas. It argues that the Just Transition Fund's current allocation methodology risks funding 'climate laggards,' as nearly two-thirds of the fund would go to countries without 2030 phase-out plans. The authors recommend making fund access conditional on ambitious coal phase-out dates and strictly excluding all fossil fuels, including gas, from the fund's scope.

In the first half of 2020, renewable electricity generation in the EU-27 reached 40%, surpassing fossil fuel generation at 34%. This shift was driven by record wind and solar penetration and a 7% drop in electricity demand caused by COVID-19. Coal generation fell by 32%, contributing to a 23% reduction in power sector CO2 emissions. While grids remained stable, the increase in renewables led to more frequent negative wholesale electricity prices, indicating a need for greater system flexibility. Poland emerged as the most coal-dependent EU country, generating as much coal-fired electricity as the other 25 EU members combined.

The report finds that 2019 EU ETS emissions fell by 7.8% to 1612 million tonnes of CO2. While coal power emissions have dropped 43% since 2013, the power sector still accounts for 52% of total ETS emissions. Notably, coal-fired blast furnaces in the steel sector have become the largest emitters in seven countries, including the UK, France, and Spain.

The document examines the global issue of CITES document abuse, where permits and certificates are falsified or obtained corruptly to legalize the trade of endangered species. It identifies key methods of abuse, such as counterfeiting and mis-declaration, and highlights the role of corrupt officials as gatekeepers. To mitigate these risks, the brief recommends a combination of prosecuting corrupt officials, implementing e-permitting systems (eCITES), enhancing technical capacity for inspectors, and improving the security of paper documents.

The report finds that the EU ETS region is increasingly importing electricity from non-EU neighbors with high carbon intensities, effectively importing emissions and creating 'offshore carbon havens'. In 2019, the EU ETS region imported 26 million tonnes of CO2, with a net import of 20 million tonnes. The authors argue that the disparity in carbon pricing gives a competitive advantage to high-carbon generators in countries like Turkey, Ukraine, and the Western Balkans. To combat this, the report recommends a border carbon adjustment (BCA) on gross electricity imports to protect the integrity of EU climate policy and incentivize decarbonization in neighboring states. It also warns that planned increases in interconnection capacity (31% by 2030) and new coal power projects (up to 57GW) in connected non-EU countries will exacerbate the problem.

The report examines six specific policy cases from the UK, Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, and Austria to provide a roadmap for decarbonising the non-ETS transport and buildings sectors in CEE countries. It uses a participatory transferability assessment involving experts from Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria to identify regional barriers and opportunities for 'leap-frogging' to best practices.

The document argues that climate action must be rights-based to be effective, urging COP-25 to ensure that Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and Article 6 mechanisms include social and environmental safeguards. It specifically calls for the ratification of the Escazú Agreement, the establishment of a financial mechanism for loss and damage under the Warsaw International Mechanism, and the integration of gender-responsive approaches in the Lima Work Programme. The briefing also emphasizes the need for independent grievance mechanisms in the Sustainable Development Mechanism to remedy harms to local communities and indigenous peoples.

The document advocates for enhancing public participation in climate policies by leveraging international legal instruments like the Aarhus Convention and the Escazú Agreement. It identifies specific entry points at COP-25—including Article 6 market mechanisms, the Lima Work Programme on Gender, and the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform—where procedural rights and safeguards for environmental defenders should be strengthened. It further suggests using the transparency framework's interactive dialogues to review how public participation improves national climate ambition.