The Climate Change Act intends to create a bottom up, long-term, consistent and cost-effective framework for climate policy action by enabling coordinated and transparent political decision making. In March 2022, the government introduced a bill to ensure that a carbon neutrality target for 2035 and other international and EU climate objectives will be reached. The new Act was approved by Parliament on May 25th, 2022, and came into force on 1 July 2022.
The law exempts the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme from its remit. It aims to increase the efficiency of the public sector to improve smart 'societal planning' while retaining the competitiveness of the economy in achieving the targets without imposing new obligations on businesses or others. The act includes a planning and monitoring system and measures to clarify the climate policy planning of state authorities.
This Act provides for medium and long term plans. The long term plans include the alternatives for reaching the long term emissions target and needs approval every 10 years, while the medium term plans concern measures outside the emissions trading scheme (such as those from traffic, housing, and agriculture) and are to be approved once per election term and the respective government is required to report to the parliament on their implementation.
The plan for adaptation stipulates a risk and vulnerability review, and must be approved once every 10 years. The Act also establishes a multidisciplinary expert body to support climate policy planning.
