Climate policy in focus: New plans to combat economic uncertainty!

Climate policy in focus: New plans to combat economic uncertainty!

At the Nature Summit in Panama City on May 31, 2025, UN Climate Change Secretary Simon Stiell emphasized the need for new and ambitious national climate plans (NDCs). Loud Econews Stiell sees strong climate policy as the key to stabilizing trade and the economy. The focus is particularly on climate change, which is affecting important trade routes such as the Panama Canal. Falling water levels in the canal cause delays in shipping traffic and can disrupt critical supply chains, resulting in rising prices and supply challenges.

Stiell warned urgently about the extreme weather events that can lead to crop declines and hunger. In addition, volatile prices for fossil fuels caused the cost of living to rise for many people. Despite these risks, Stiell sends a positive signal: numerous clean energy projects are being built around the world and investors are ready to make investments worth billions. Consistent implementation of the new climate plans can not only reduce emissions, but also grow industrial sectors and protect nature.

Urgency of implementation

The urgency of the measures is underlined by the realization that without political leadership, the plans will only remain on paper. Stiell praised the global trend toward decarbonization, seen as one of the greatest economic transformations of our time. Technological advances in the areas of electromobility, energy storage and renewable energies play a crucial role, while countries such as Brazil and China are drawing attention with concrete climate targets.

The Nature Summit in Panama marks the start of Climate Week 2025, which aims to make concrete progress. In order to achieve the climate goals, international cooperation is essential.

European cooperation for climate protection

In the context of European climate policy, the cooperation of all EU member states is of central importance. The Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) represents a fundamental tool for making national energy and climate policies coherent over a ten-year period. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection explains that the NECP aims to make the policies of the EU member states comparable and to ensure reliable monitoring of the EU goals up to 2030, as stated on bmwk.de is presented.

The NECP covers five dimensions of the EU Energy Union: reducing CO₂ emissions, expanding renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy security, and research, innovation and competitiveness. These dimensions are divided into a political-strategic and an analytical part, with the former representing national goals and strategies, while the latter contains projections and impact assessments of existing measures.

Regular audits by the EU Commission ensure that progress is assessed. From 2023, a progress report will be presented every two years and additional measures may be taken if progress is insufficient. The Governance Regulation aims to strengthen exchanges and cooperation between Member States in order to avoid negative effects of planned measures.