Climate mainstreaming

What do we do?

The fight against climate change is, by its very nature, a fight that transcends national boundaries. In order to achieve our climate goals, develop new clean technology, deploy the best solutions and drive our economies towards a more sustainable path, action at the EU level is essential. EU action can exploit significant economies of scale, pull together resources to reach critical mass and contribute to strengthening the EU in the international arena.

The EU budget makes a crucial contribution to the fight against climate change. Over the course of the 2021-2027 period, the EU is set to spend at least 30% of its budget on climate-relevant objectives.

Climate mainstreaming requires EU programmes in all policy areas to consider climate priorities in their design, implementation and evaluation phases. This approach was first adopted in the context of the 2014-2020 multiannual financial framework. In the context of the 2021-2027 budget, the Commission has further developed its approach to climate mainstreaming. All measures marked as relevant to the climate address one of the following objectives.

• Adaptation. This involves finding solutions to and ensuring preparedness for the adverse effects of climate change, enhancing resilience, taking appropriate action to prevent or minimise the damage such effects can cause and taking advantage of any opportunities that may arise.
• Mitigation. This refers to action that limits the magnitude of long-term climate change. Climate-change mitigation generally involves reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

The current climate mainstreaming architecture is set out in the staff working document on climate mainstreaming for 2021-2027. This architecture entails:

• an overall climate spending target of 30%, supported by sectoral targets in relevant legislation;
• embedding EU budget action in the European Green Deal policy framework by adopting the biodiversity strategy and the farm-to-fork strategy, which will impact the way programmes are designed;
• enhancing the climate responsiveness of programmes and initiatives financed under the EU budget that do not directly tackle the climate challenge, through reinforced climate proofing and the application of the ‘do-no–harm’ principle;
• a climate adjustment mechanism, which will enable the Commission to take compensatory action to address possible gaps in achieving the climate spending targets of individual EU spending programmes, by ensuring that the deficit is addressed either within the same programme in the subsequent years of its implementation or by other programmes, so that the overall 30% climate spending target for the EU budget can be achieved as planned.

How much do we spend?

^{Climate contribution in 2021 to 2027 (million EUR).
Source: European Commission.}

For the 2021-2027 period, the EU budget – including NextGenerationEU – is projected to contribute EUR 662 billion to climate mainstreaming objectives, representing 34% of the budget envelope, surpassing the initial target of 30%. Additionally, through the InvestEU programme the EU budget is expected to help mobilise over EUR 110 billion in investment to meet EU climate goals. 

Using the percentage of climate spending per programme calculated for budgetary commitments, it is possible to estimate the amount of climate-related spending at the payment level, which currently stands at 32.6%. On this basis, Member States contributing to the EU budget can calculate their share of green budget contributions for the EU budget. This estimate excludes the Recovery and Resilience Facility, as this is financed by EU bonds instead of Member State contributions.  

• General publications
• 12 June 2025

Climate overview 2025

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Climate methodology

For the 2021–2027 multiannual financial framework, European Parliament and the Council agreed during the negotiations of the respective programmes in 2020 on the design of the climate methodology based on the EU coefficients (e.g. for the Recovery and Resilience Facility). The Commission summarised this methodology in the communication on the performance framework of the EU budget under the 2021-2022 multiannual financial framework, The methodology assigns three different coefficients (0%, 40% or 100%) based on a list of possible activities. The Commission has published a climate mainstreaming architecture staff working document, where it has outlined the principles of its methodology, including the integration of the ‘do no (significant) harm’ principle.

The amounts above are calculated based on commitment appropriations as following:

• For direct management, past years figures are taken directly from the financial system of the Commission (ABAC). This reflects the most updated data, including transfers and decommitments, in line with the European Court of Auditor recommendations. For future estimates, work programmes and historical values are taken into consideration.
• For shared management, past and future figures are presented on the base of the Operational Programmes and CAP Strategic Plans agreed with the Member States, and updated according to the annual reports.
• For indirect management, the figures are based on the existing targets and agreements with the implementing partners, as well as their annual reports.

Climate Adjustment Mechanism

To guarantee that the budget-wide 30% target will be reached, the Climate Adjustment Mechanism has been designed to function as a monitoring instrument.

The Climate Adjustment Mechanism entails the following:

• The specification of sectoral targets underpinning the overall 30% budget-wide target. These targets have been included in articles of the legislation for programmes involving significant pre-programming (e.g. the Recovery and Resilience Facility and the common provisions regulation), to limit the risk of deviation.
• Enhanced monitoring and reporting, through more in-depth tracking in the Commission’s financial information-technology system and a specific section in the programme performance statement for each individual spending programme taking stock of progress achieved in relation to the target for the respective programme.
• A mechanism whereby the Commission will propose corrective action in line with the specific basic act provisions in case of deviations in the programming that could endanger the 30% target.

On the basis of available information, the EU budget is on track to fulfil both the overall 30% target and its sectoral targets. Each programme performance statement includes a dedicated section presenting the climate contribution for the programme, which specifies the action undertaken to ensure proper financing. This section will be updated every year on the basis of the most up-to-date data and information available and will explain any deviations from the expected performance and remedial plans.

Differentiating between climate change mitigation and adaptation expenditure 

Under the interinstitutional agreement of 16 December 2020, the Commission committed to report on climate expenditure, differentiating between climate change mitigation and adaptation, where feasible. To allow for such reporting, an external study was commissioned to assist in developing a methodology to disaggregate climate expenditure across these two dimensions.  

The methodology was designed to avoid creating additional administrative burdens by building on the existing system of intervention fields used under the Common Provisions Regulation for cohesion funds and the Recovery and Resilience Facility. For external action programmes, existing methodologies were used, while for the common agricultural policy, the methodology was developed as a part of a specific study commissioned for this policy.  

^{Source: European Commission. Figures do not include the Ukraine Facility and the ‘Reform and growth facility for the Western Balkans’. Figures for the common agricultural policy refer only to the 2023-2024 period.}