Austrian National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) open for public consultation
Starting on November 4th, the Austrian proposal for the national NECP was published and now asks for public consultation until December 2nd. The NECP is a requirement for EU member states to outline the efforts to reach the goals for lowering greenhouse gas emissions at -36% compared to 2005 until the year 2030. The Paris agreement would in fact ask for -50%. The Austrian NECP has received some criticism for falling short on main issues like the proposed measures lack a timeframe and will most likely not be sufficient to fulfil the requirements for -36%, let alone -50% by 2030. Additionally, it does not provide any sectoral goals aside from traffic and buildings, like for example in the area of agriculture.
ECJ reaffirms strict interpretation of exceptions to species protection
In its current decision on wolf hunting in Finland, the ECJ deals with Article 16(1)(e) Habitats Directive and comes to the conclusion that this provision is not a general legal basis or a catch-all provision for the provisions in Article 16(1)(a-d). The ECJ further concludes that exceptions to species protection can only be based on this provision under very strict conditions. In addition, the ECJ emphasises once again that all requirements for derogations must be interpreted restrictively and that an assessment must always be based on rigorous scientific data.