Leading environment and climate organisations score European Parliament’s performance on protecting the Green Deal

The EU elections are around the corner, or rather around the next 2 months. On transport, on energy and on climate, we know the EU has been a force for good in its current term. From clean cars to carbon taxes for planes and ships, the EU has done what national governments could not or would not do. In many European countries there would be very little environmental protection without the EU.

From the 30 laws guiding Europe to become a climate-neutral, nature-position and zero-pollution continent, 12 laws and 49 analyzed amendments focused on Europe’s long-term journey to achieving climate-neutrality and advancing the sustainable transport and energy transition.  On climate, energy and transport-related laws, the results show that some parties have been less forward looking, voting to keep dirty and polluting transport and energy artificially alive. 

The Protectors

• Greens / European Free Alliance – 93/100
• The Left – 81/100
• Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats – 67/100

The Procrastinators

• Renew Europe – 57/100

The Prehistoric Thinkers

• European People’s Party – 25/100
• European Conservatives and Reformists – 11/100

Identity and Democracy – 7/100

The majority of MEPs acted instead as either procrastinators or prehistoric thinkers, delaying real action with patchy and inconsistent voting records, or worse, completely failing to rise to the challenge of the crises Europe is facing. We cannot take progress for granted. The June elections will determine who will be the protector of climate and nature action and who will drive the speed along the race to sustainable transport in Europe until 2029.

T&E, BirdLife Europe, Climate Action Network Europe, European Environmental Bureau and WWF European Policy Office, evaluated the 705 Members of the European Parliament and their voting behavior on key climate and nature files in this legislative term from 2019-2024.