Dispatch from the European Union | January '26
*** Our weekly Dispatches provide an overview of the most relevant recent and upcoming developments for the shift to climate neutrality in selected European countries, from policy and diplomacy to society and industry. For a bird's-eye view of the country's climate-friendly transition, read the respective 'Guide to'. ***
Stories to watch in the weeks ahead
- EU passes complete Russian gas ban, but replaces it with US LNG – The majority of EU countries voted for a final and definitive end to Russian gas imports by late next year. Member states will have until 1 March to "prepare national plans to diversify gas supplies and identify potential challenges in replacing Russian gas". An emergency break provision was added that would suspend the ban for up to four weeks if supply is "seriously threatened in one or more EU countries" to satisfy the concerns of Hungary and Slovakia, which nonetheless voted against the ban. To replace Russian gas, the European Commission is pursuing a strategy of building import terminals and pipeline infrastructure to receive American liquefied natural gas (LNG) by ship. Europe will buy 750 billion US dollars of US LNG over the next three years, according to the terms of the US-EU “trade deal” agreed by EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and Trump in July. Analysts say this will lock Europe into receiving 80 percent of its gas imports from the US within just a few years – essentially swapping Russian energy dependence for a reliance on the US. Several reports over the past three years, including one from the Oxford Sustainable Finance Group, argued that Europe could replace Russian gas with renewable energy by 2028.
- CBAM is now reality – The EU is moving ahead with its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) despite threats from the US government. It is intended to protect domestic industry as free Emission Trading System (ETS) allowances are phased out. CBAM began on 1 January and payments are due to start next year. The measure is a major tool for aligning international trade with climate goals, but many questions remain unanswered. Following complaints from industry, the Commission proposed to introduce a clause to temporarily suspend goods from CBAM in ‘serious and unforeseen circumstances’. European industry has complained that they are not getting enough guidance from the Commission on how CBAM will be implemented.
The latest in EU policymaking – last month in recap
- Renewable milestone – Wind and solar electricity generation in the EU surpassed fossil fuels for the first time last year. The renewable energies supplied around 30 percent of total power compared with 29 percent from fossil fuels. Solar power led the growth, thanks to rapid cost declines and new installations across Europe. This milestone marks a key turning point in Europe’s energy transition and energy independence ambitions, and comes amid other wider encouraging trends. Despite the intense political pressure coming from the US (including Trump’s crusades against windmills), European North Sea states committed to reach up to 300 GW of offshore capacity by 2050, with EU budget-backed support mechanisms and subsidy frameworks under discussion.
- Corporate sustainability rules weakened – EU institutions struck a deal in early December to ease corporate sustainability reporting requirements for many companies. The move reduces compliance burdens, angering climate campaigners who favoured stronger disclosure standards. That was just the opening salvo in an overall “omnibus” initiative from the European Commission to weaken climate and environment laws in the name of making European companies more competitive. The Commission has also been criticised for several other regulation and enforcement delays of climate laws.
- Weaker 2040 emissions target agreed – The European Council and Parliament reached a provisional target to reduce emissions by 90 percent by 2040 under the EU Climate Law, adding a new benchmark on the path to climate neutrality by 2050. But to get the agreement, which has now also been backed by the European Parliament, the target had to be significantly weakened by adding flexibilities, including up to five percent use of international credits.
- Funding for energy and climate research & innovation – The European Commission adopted the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2026–2027, dedicating roughly 4.9 billion euros to climate action, including support for energy storage, renewables, grid modernisation and decarbonisation technologies. This month the Commission held the Horizon Europe Cluster 5 Info Day, aimed at guiding applicants on how to get the climate, energy and mobility research funding.
Dave's picks: highlights from upcoming events and top reads
- All the doom and gloom has certainly given a lot of fodder for authors to write some interesting books about EU climate policy. Monica Feria-Tinta’s A Barrister for the Earth: Ten Cases of Hope for Our Future outlines how a strategy of legal action using human rights law could help save global climate efforts. It outlines how those legal tools have been used around the world to fight environmental destruction and climate harm, offering ten real stories of legal battles with global implications.
- The former director-general of the European Commission’s climate department, Jos Delbeke, continues to attract attention for last year’s Delivering a Climate Neutral Europe. In it, he looks back at 25 years of EU climate policy, and how instruments like the European Green Deal are shaping mitigation and adaptation strategies. It has taken on new importance after Trump derided the “Green new scam” in his speech at Davos (apparently confusing the European policy with FDR’s policy in 1930s America, the New Deal). Von der Leyen’s Green Deal was so vilified by her own centre-right European People’s Party during the 2024 EU election that the Commission changed the name (and focus) last year to the Clean Industrial Deal. And though it isn’t about EU climate policy, my new book The Owned Continent (which came out last month) has a chapter dedicated to how Europe is replacing Russian energy dependence with American fuel.
- European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) 2026 - Scheduled for 9–11 June 2026 in Brussels, EUSEW will be an opportunity for climate campaigners and policymakers to take stock after a year of setbacks. Its focus will on a clean, secure and competitive Energy Union.
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