Stable long-term strategies are crucial to help achieve the economic transformation needed and broader sustainable development goals, as well as move towards the long-term goal set by the Paris Agreement – holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C.
All Parties to the Paris Agreement are invited to communicate, by 2020, their mid-century, long-term low greenhouse gas emission development strategies.
The Regulation on the governance of the energy union and climate action (EU/2018/1999) sets out a process for the Member States to prepare these strategies and new strategies every 10 years thereafter.
The long-term strategies should be consistent with Member States’ integrated National energy and climate plans for the period 2021-30.
Areas covered
The national long-term strategies and the EU’s strategy have to cover, with a perspective of at least 30 years:
- total greenhouse gas emission reductions and enhancements of removals by sinks;
- emission reductions and enhancements of removals in individual sectors, including electricity, industry, transport, the heating and cooling and buildings sector (residential and tertiary), agriculture, waste and land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF);
- expected progress on transition to a low greenhouse gas emission economy, including greenhouse gas intensity, CO2 intensity of gross domestic product, related estimates of long-term investment, and strategies for related research, development and innovation;
- to the extent feasible, expected socio-economic effect of the decarbonisation measures, including, inter alia, aspects related to macro-economic and social development, health risks and benefits and environmental protection;
- links to other national long-term objectives, planning and other policies and measures, and investment.
The process
The governance regulation required Member States to submit their first national long-term strategies to the Commission by 1 January 2020.
The next strategies are due by 1 January 2029 and every 10 years thereafter. Member States should, where necessary, update their strategies every five years.
The Commission will support Member States in preparing their long-term strategies by providing information on
- the state of the underlying scientific knowledge
- opportunities for sharing knowledge and best practices, including, where relevant, guidance for Member States.
The Commission will assess whether the national long-term strategies are adequate for the EU to collectively achieve the objectives and targets set out in the governance regulation and provide information on any remaining collective gap.
Member States should develop their strategies in an open and transparent manner and ensure opportunities for the public to participate.
National long-term strategies
The table below links to the national long-term strategies, as submitted by Member States. Strategies are added as soon as they are received. Where available, the official national websites are added. For information purposes, a two-page document summarising the main content of each national long-term strategy is also added. The country tables have been prepared by a team led by the consultancy Ricardo, as part of a contract to support DG CLIMA with the assessment of the Long-Term Strategies of EU Member States.
Strategies are added as soon as they are received.
Long-term strategies received (as of 1 February 2023)
Original version:
English version: EN
National website:
Summary tables**:
Original version: HU* - HU (update 2021)
English version: EN (update 2021)
National website: Hungary
Summary tables**: EN
Original version: EN - EN (update 2024)
English version:
National website:
Summary tables**: EN
Original version: LT - LT (update 2021)
English version:
National website: Lithuania - Lithuania (update 2021)
Summary tables**: EN
Original version: NL
English version: EN
National website: Netherlands
Summary tables**: EN
Original version:
English version:
National website:
Summary tables**:
* Draft
** The country tables have been prepared by a team led by the consultancy Ricardo, as part of a contract to support DG CLIMA with the assessment of the Long-Term Strategies of EU Member States.
EU long-term strategy
The Commission put forward its strategic long-term vision for a climate-neutral EU by 2050 on 28 November 2018, in line with the governance regulation.
The European Parliament endorsed the net-zero greenhouse gas emissions objective in its resolution on climate change in March 2019 and resolution on the European Green Deal in January 2020.
The European Council endorsed in December 2019 the objective of making the EU climate-neutral by 2050, in line with the Paris Agreement.
The EU submitted its long-term strategy to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in March 2020.