Poland strikes out in challenges to EU climate laws

Warsaw’s warnings about higher costs failed to establish that it had the right to a national veto on bloc-wide rules. Its government vowed to keep pressing for changes.(CN) — Poland’s attempt to knock out seven pillars of Europe’s climate agenda failed Thursday, leaving intact rules governing everything from car showrooms to household heating bills.The Court of Justice of the European Union dismissed all seven challenges to laws covering cars, carbon markets, imports, forests, national emissions targets and energy savings. Poland sought to overturn the measures, arguing in part that their economic and energy consequences required unanimous approval by the EU’s 27 members, effectively giving Warsaw a veto.Warsaw filed the lawsuits in 2023. Poland argues the transition threatens higher bills for households reliant on coal-generated electricity, lost business for industry and electric cars beyond poorer drivers’ budgets.The judges rejected the veto argument. The environmental laws’ purpose and content determined the voting rules; their effects on energy supplies did not automatically require every government’s consent. The energy efficiency rules required no unanimous approval either.Worries over uneven costs were insufficient to overturn the laws. The judges rejected Poland’s objections after examining impact assessments, flexibility and financial support to ease the transition.The legislation belongs to Fit for 55, Europe’s push to cut net greenhouse gas emissions at least 55% below 1990 levels by 2030 and reach climate neutrality by 2050. It combines cleaner vehicles, energy savings and carbon pricing with national targets and greater carbon absorption by forests.Ville Niinistö, the European Parliament member who led the chamber’s work on the land use law, welcomed lawmakers’ freedom to act. “This is vital for us to be able to mitigate climate change and increase carbon sinks in line with the Paris agreement,” he said.In Poland, Wojciech Kukuła, a board member at environmental law organization ClientEarth Poland, welcomed the largely expected outcome but criticized the Polish government for pursuing lawsuits inherited from its predecessors.“The priority now should be ensuring that these laws are effectively implemented at the national level,” he said.The measures left standing include standards requiring a 100% reduction in new-car and van fleet emissions from 2035, stronger national emissions and carbon removal targets and energy-saving requirements. They also include changes to Europe’s pollution permit market, a separate system covering fuels used in buildings and road transport and a reserve that removes surplus permits.Jana Gheuens, a postdoctoral researcher in political science at Stockholm University, described litigation as one of several right-wing strategies to undermine climate policy. She warned that allowing combustion-engine cars running on synthetic fuels or biofuels beyond 2035 would hurt investment certainty and competitiveness while prolonging pollution and health harms.“While this court decision prevented a complete rollback of pieces of legislation like the CO2 emission performance standards for new passenger cars, it does not shield them from future policy weakening,” she said.For goods arriving from abroad, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, or CBAM, puts a carbon price on certain imports to discourage manufacturers from escaping European pollution costs by moving production overseas. Warsaw argues that the scheme is a tax requiring unanimous approval.The European Commission estimated it would raise 9.1 billion euros (about $10.1 billion) in 2030. “However, the generation of such revenue is a consequence, not an objective, of the introduction of the CBAM,” the judges wrote, rejecting Poland’s argument.Poland also argued Europe had failed to show solidarity with countries facing heavier transition costs. The judges found the energy-specific duty did not apply to the challenged environmental laws, but a broader obligation to balance national interests with Europe’s shared goals did.Funding helped meet that obligation, including through the Social Climate Fund, which supports vulnerable households facing energy and transport costs.Laura Kaschny, an assistant professor of EU law at Maastricht University, said such support recognized countries’ different economic circumstances and spread the burden more fairly. Solidarity required weighing their interests, she explained, without protecting them from every adverse effect.“Hence, the legislative integration of solidarity is not new to climate and energy law,” she said.Jakub Faszcza, a Polish energy lawyer and deputy manager at Polish Nuclear Power Plants, said the judgments may signal a narrower interpretation of energy solidarity, raising questions about how EU laws account for their broader energy security effects.“This raises a broader question as to whether, and to what extent, EU institutions are required to consider the energy security implications of legislative measures adopted under treaty competences other than those relating to energy policy,” he said.Poland’s Climate and Environment Ministry said it had expected defeat but made every effort to win. “We are continuously working to amend regulations that we consider inconvenient or problematic for Poland,” it said, identifying carbon trading and the import charge as targets for revision.The European Parliament and Council declined to comment.The judgments cannot be appealed. Poland must pay its own legal costs and those of parliament and the council.Courthouse News reporter Eunseo Hong is based in the Netherlands.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads