The Council today approved conclusions on “Europe’s Environment 2030 – Building a more climate resilient and circular Europe”. The conclusions stress the urgent need to accelerate action to meet the EU’s long-term environmental and climate goals, particularly the six 2030 priority objectives of the 8th Environment Action Programme (EAP).
The Council acknowledges the findings of both the latest report from the European Environment Agency (EEA), ‘Europe’s environment 2025’, and the Commission’s mid-term review of the 8th EAP. Despite progress, both reports conclude that further efforts are needed to meet the 2030 priority objectives, especially in climate adaptation and the circular economy.
In a time marked by pressing security and defense agendas it is necessary to reaffirm the need for environmental protection and its contribution to greater resilience in the EU. There is no doubt that climate resilience is one of the great challenges of our time. Millions of European citizens are directly affected by flooding and/or coastal erosion, and it calls for collective action across the entire EU. The transition to a circular economy is another of the major challenges facing the EU. There is a need for a strengthened market for secondary materials, increased oversight of online platforms, and we must protect the EU from unfair competition from third countries.
Magnus Heunicke, Denmark’s minister for environment
In its conclusions, the Council explicitly recognises the insufficient progress towards the 8th EAP objectives and the unsatisfactory state of nature and biodiversity. It also stresses the urgency of advancing both climate resilience and the transition to a circular economy, recognising the interconnectedness of these issues in addressing climate and environmental challenges such as pollution, biodiversity loss, and resource scarcity.
Climate resilience
The Council notes with concern that many climate risks identified in the European climate risk assessment (EUCRA) have reached critical levels. Transformational change is needed to enhance the EU’s security, prosperity, and competitiveness by making it better prepared and more resilient.
The Council calls for the proactive integration of climate resilience across all policies and sectors (‘climate resilience by design’). It stresses the foundational importance of healthy ecosystems and nature-based solutions as cost-effective means for climate resilience. The Council also welcomes the Commission’s plans to develop a legal framework to support climate resilience, emphasising the need for common definitions, objectives and methodologies for risk assessments, while respecting the principles of subsidiarity and taking into account local specificities.
The conclusions emphasise that sufficient financing is key, requiring the mobilisation of both public and private resources, and that the costs and damages due to inaction are expected to be significantly higher than effective action.
Circular economy
The Council confirms the need for a comprehensive, efficient and effective legislative framework to accelerate systemic change towards the long-term circular economy objectives.
The Council highlights the importance of a well-functioning single market for secondary raw materials to reduce material extraction and enhance recycling. It encourages the Commission to explore potential pricing and stimulating mechanisms to level the playing field between circular and linear business models.
It emphasises the importance of establishing non-toxic material cycles by rapidly phasing out harmful substances and fully implementing the Chemical Strategy for Sustainability, particularly by revising and modernising REACH. The Council also stresses the importance of further incentives to increase durability, repairability, and reuse of products, and urges the timely implementation of the ecodesign for sustainable products regulation (ESPR).
Background
The Council conclusions respond to two significant recent developments:
- the mid-term review of the 8th EAP, submitted by the European Commission on 13 March 2024, which assesses progress towards the six 2030 priority objectives of the 8th EAP
- the European Environment Agency (EEA) report on the state of the European environment, ‘Europe’s environment 2025’, presented on 29 September 2025
Both reports noted that meeting the 2030 priority objectives, which are based on the ambitions of the European Green Deal, will require further efforts.
Against this backdrop, the Commission has announced two major initiatives in its 2026 work programme: the European integrated framework for climate resilience and the circular economy act. These conclusions aim to set the Council’s political priorities and ambition for these upcoming legislative proposals.
O artigo foi publicado originalmente em Conselho Europeu.
