Editorial: Climate Mitigation Ambitions vs. Implementation Reality

by Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir

Climate Mitigation Ambitions vs. Implementation Reality – Why CSAC and Climate Councils Matter Now More Than Ever

The Climate Action Progress Report 2025 released by the European Commission describes a cautiously optimistic picture: EU greenhouse gas emissions fell by 2.5% in 2024, reaching levels approximately 37% below 1990 while the economy continued to grow by 71%. The report has a proud approach, asserting that the EU remains "on track" to meet its 2030 mitigation target of at least a 55% reduction in net emissions. But only if Member States fully implement existing and planned measures.
This conditional optimism lies at the heart of the problem.
From a climate mitigation perspective, the document shows a structural weakness consisting in the progress that remains highly dependent on assumptions of effective national implementation, political stability, and unprecedented investment levels. The report explicitly acknowledges a projected gap of up to 9% in effort-sharing sectors such as domestic transport, buildings, agriculture, and waste, even under additional measures.
These sectors (which are precisely the ones where mitigation must accelerate) remain chronically underperforming.
Moreover, the land carbon sink remains fragile, with the EU Climate Law capping Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) contributions at 225 MtCO₂-eq, limiting the potential of nature-based mitigation pathways. Rising emissions from aviation and maritime transport, now included in the EU Emission Trading System (EU ETS), further challenge mitigation progress.
The report stresses several times the need for "decisive implementation," "stronger investment," and "close cooperation between EU, national and local authorities, businesses and citizens". However, it offers little insight into how governance gaps, low local capacity, and weak stakeholder engagement will be addressed.
This is where regional actors such as the Support Center for Climate Action (CSAC) and Climate Councils become highly relevant and even indispensable.

Why CSAC and Climate Councils Matter
The report highlights that mitigation success depends on coherent implementation across governance levels, especially regional and local structures, which are responsible for a large share of emissions reductions in transport, buildings, and land-use sectors.
However, many national plans lack comprehensive strategies for mobilizing finance and integrating adaptation and mitigation coherently at local level.
The CSAC Climate Council directly addresses these structural weaknesses by:

• integrating scientific, technical and social expertise into decision-making
• supporting municipalities in planning and implementing mitigation measures
• facilitating coordination across institutions and levels of governance
• promoting participatory processes that increase social acceptance (a key barrier identified in Member State progress reports)

Its multi-actor, interdisciplinary approach aligns with international evidence indicating that governance platforms combining expert knowledge with local participation significantly increase policy effectiveness and innovation.
Furthermore, the Climate Council's potential to develop a regional Climate Risk Observatory, harmonize local strategies, and support financing access positions it as a strategic mitigation enabler which is exactly the kind of structure the EU report calls for but does not operationally define.

A Critical Gap: From Reporting to Regional Action
The 2025 report confirms that:

• mitigation progress is uneven across Member States
• existing policies alone will not reach 2030 targets
• local implementation capacity remains insufficient
• public participation and acceptance remain underdeveloped

But the governance mechanisms to bridge these gaps remain weak in many regions and without empowered regional structures, the EU risks continuing the pattern of ambitious target-setting accompanied by only partial delivery.

Conclusion
The Climate Action Progress Report 2025 demonstrates clear EU commitment to climate mitigation, but also exposes systemic vulnerabilities. With only five years left until the 2030 target, mitigation success will depend less on additional high-level policy announcements and more on local implementation capacity, cross-sector cooperation, and social acceptance.
Regional initiatives such as the Support Center for Climate Action and its Climate Council represent essential components of effective mitigation architecture. They provide the governance interfaces, knowledge transfer mechanisms, and participatory frameworks needed to transform EU-level ambition into territorial reality.