The EC WORK PROGRAMME FOR GREEN DEAL IN 2022

The EC will

1. continue on its path towards making Europe the world’s first climate neutral continent by 2050.
2. propose a regulatory framework for the certification of carbon removals, to scale up the deployment of sustainable carbon removals and to create a new business model rewarding land managers for such practices.
3. review the CO2 emissions standards for heavy-duty vehicles and set up a legislative framework for the harmonised measurement of transport and logistics emissions to support the transition towards zero-emission mobility.
4. review EU rules on fluorinated greenhouse gases to further reduce their emissions and ensure compliance with international commitments.
5. Green bonds will play an increasingly important role in the financing needed for the decarbonisation of our society, as part of the Sustainable Europe Investment Plan.
6. follow-up on the zero pollution action plan including in the areas of integrated water management to tackle surface and groundwater pollutants and ambient air quality to align standards with World Health Organisation recommendations.
7. propose measures to restrict the addition of microplastics to products and reduce their release into the environment. We will address the sustainability challenges of biodegradable and compostable plastics and identify where they could be beneficial to the environment.
8. revise legislation on classification, labelling and packaging and work further towards a targeted revision of the REACH regulation to better protect human health and nature.
9. in addition to the Sustainable Product Policy initiatives, we will strengthen the rights of consumers to repair products at fair prices. This will extend the useful life of goods, and will therefore further the objectives of the circular economy.
10. in support of the renewable energy target set in July 2021, the Commission will work on good practices for permitting on renewables and publish a Communication on solar energy, which will focus on specific applications and address existing barriers.
11. will mobilise resources to ensure a green transition that is socially and internationally fair and just: next to the Just Transition Fund and the proposed Social Climate Fund linked to the extension of carbon trading to transport and housing, we will double external funding for biodiversity, and contribute significantly to climate finance for less developed countries and those that are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
12. continue working towards greener and more sustainable agriculture and delivering on the actions set out in the farm to fork strategy.
13. In 2022, the Commission will be working with Member States to agree ambitious national strategic plans that deliver on the objectives of the Common Agricultural Policy and the Green Deal and will propose, amongst other initiatives, new rules on sustainable use of pesticides to deliver on the 50% reduction target in the biodiversity and farm to fork strategies and a revision of marketing standards. In parallel, the Commission will aim to scale up sustainable farming practices by promoting carbon farming, redefining sustainable ways of using farmland as well as farming fish and seafood, and by improved farm-level monitoring of sustainability indicators.