Environment Writing.- The pace of progress towards climate neutrality in the European Union remains "too slow" and climate impacts such as wildfires, which have ravaged almost 400,000 hectares this year in Spain, are weakening the natural carbon sink in Europe, which continues to subsidize and finance fossil fuels, according to a study by the European Observatory for Climate Neutrality.
These are some of the conclusions of the third report on the "State of the EU's progress towards climate neutrality", prepared by the European Climate Neutrality Observatory (ECNO), which was published this Wednesday and in which experts warn that progress towards zero emissions is still "too slow" in Europe.
Faced with this reality, the ECNO underlines the need to increase financial and regulatory incentives to protect forests, spaces that are "essential in the fight against climate change".
Climate Investment Gap
According to the study, in 2023 the investment gap in climate policies was 344 billion euros in Europe, despite the promises made by the President of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, to focus her second term on the implementation and promotion of investments for the European Green Pact.
In that year, and as a consequence of the war between Russia and Ukraine, the EU spent twice that amount on imports and subsidies for fossil fuels, while investments in clean energy decreased.
In 2024, fossil fuel imports increased to almost 400 billion euros, according to the authors. Currently, the EU depends on imports of liquefied natural gas, whose largest supplier is the United States.
Therefore, experts suggest "urgently integrating" the climate agenda with that of industrial competitiveness, to close the climate investment gap, despite the fact that the proposals included in the Omnibus law and the Industrial Action Plan for the European automotive sector "weaken the European Green Pact and the emissions reduction target".
They also warn that public climate investment faces several challenges after 2026, with fiscal reforms that will increase pressure on the climate budgets of some member states.
Therefore, they urge the establishment of an "effective, well-informed and coordinated long-term investment framework" to specify the role of public and private financing.
Strengthening Forest Resilience
Ecologic Institute researcher Jonathan Gardiner points out that Europe's carbon sink has weakened in recent years due to the increase in forest fires.
Forests are fundamental, but they are under strong pressure from drought, forest fires, and the growing demand for wood, he assures.
In their opinion, "the devastating fires in Spain highlight the need to strengthen forest resilience through nature-based management that ensures greater diversity of tree species and age structures, while promoting biodiversity."
Gardiner emphasizes that, although there is still no exact data on the losses from the fires, "it is evident that more trees are needed growing and fewer dying or being felled."
Across the EU, it notes, forest carbon reserves show some signs of recovery, with an approximate growth of 1.7% annually in the last five years, although at a pace too slow to reach the carbon sink target set for 2030.
It asserts that "the EU should develop financial and regulatory incentives for landowners to protect, restore, and strengthen forest carbon sinks" and improve forest data, which "remain weak," through more effective monitoring via the proposed Forest Monitoring Law, leveraging the most advanced technologies such as remote sensing.”
Promotion of Clean Energies
The Observatory notes that, although the Clean Industrial Deal, a European initiative presented in February 2025, is "a positive step," it recommends developing the Net Zero Industry Act as soon as possible in all EU member states, as well as reviewing public procurement rules to foster innovation and manufacturing capacity in clean technologies and stimulate demand for European green products.
ECNO experts recall that Europe remains "highly dependent on imported critical raw materials" vital for technologies and industries that would pave the way towards a climate-neutral economy and accelerate decarbonization, improve competitiveness, and increase the EU's economic resilience.
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