urope’s climate transition is showing signs of acceleration – but progress remains too uneven and too slow to strengthen resilience at the pace needed. ECNO’s 2026 Flagship Report finds that more than half of the indicators they track have improved their rate of progress compared to last year and that nearly a quarter are now on track to meet climate neutrality. Note that this is an indicator-based assessment across 13 building blocks for a climate neutral future. Yet overall progress remains too slow, leaving the EU exposed to strategic dependencies, economic vulnerabilities and worsening climate impacts. Building on this assessment, the report identifies six key actions to strengthen Europe’s resilience while accelerating the transition to a competitive, climate-neutral economy.
Six key actions to strengthen resilience while delivering on climate neutrality
Building on this assessment, the report identifies six priority areas where action is most urgently needed to boost Europe’s resilience on the path to climate neutrality.
- Accelerate and integrate renewable electricity generation. Variable renewables stood at just 30% of electricity generation in 2025, rising far too slowly to meet the 58% deployment needed by 2030. Wind buildout is lagging in particular. Grid investment, battery storage and smart meter rollout all remain insufficient. Faster permitting, more integrated grid planning and stronger incentives for non-fossil flexibility are needed to scale up renewables to the levels needed.
- Electrify transport, buildings and industry. Electrification rates have stagnated at just over 20% for a decade. Closing the electricity-to-gas price gap, including through energy taxation reform and stronger policy support for batteries, heat pumps and electric vehicles, is essential to make electrification commercially viable across sectors.
- Shift fossil fuel subsidies towards a fair transition. Fossil fuel subsidies remain high at nearly EUR 100 billion. Broad energy price relief should be replaced with targeted support for vulnerable households, combined with investment in building renovation, heat pumps and affordable public transport. The Social Climate Fund is a key opportunity that Member States must use effectively.
- Support clean tech leadership and industry decarbonisation. Europe risks falling behind in the global clean technology race. Large-scale clean tech investment halved from EUR 10 billion in 2021 to EUR 5 billion in 2025, while public R&D spending has plummeted. In heavy industry, there is a stark funding gap for CO2 transport and storage: current public funding is around EUR 300 million against an estimated need of up to EUR 23 billion. A broader industrial strategy is needed that combines carbon pricing with stronger demand creation, de-risking instruments and measures to reduce supply chain dependencies on China.
- Reuse and recover materials. Europe is becoming more resource-efficient, but only 12% of materials are recycled back into the economy. This share needs to rise sharply as demand for critical raw materials tied to clean technology grows. The forthcoming Circular Economy Act should translate ambition into binding market creation, including stronger recycled content standards and circularity criteria in public procurement.
- Reduce exposure in the food system. European agriculture remains highly exposed to climate impacts, fertiliser price volatility and fossil fuel dependence. Structural change is needed to build long-term resilience, including reforming CAP subsidies to support more sustainable farming models, further reducing synthetic fertiliser use and expanding organic farming area, which needs to go up from around 11% currently to 25% in 2030.
The full report is available here.
External link
Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 