For politicians across Europe, the rubber is about to hit the road again after the summer lull.

But if information slowly trickling into Brussels, after most member states missed their 30th June legal filing deadline for national climate action plans, is anything to go by, the ambitious target of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 is looking pretty fragile.

Who has submitted plans?

Those countries that are not members — yes, the UK included — are also setting their own plans and beginning to share more detail about measures to achieve them. Yet with the COP29 summit in Azerbaijan on the horizon, those are looking shaky too.

Just four of the 27 EU nations submitted their plans by the June deadline. And with the holiday period nearly over, this week that has only increased to 10, with the major countries of Germany, Spain and Poland still not having done so.

This Politico piece highlights the potential impact of the delays on the EU’s aim to reduce emissions by 55 per cent by 2030 and eradicate them 20 years later. “A key element of the plans is country-by-country mandates to cut emissions in sectors outside the EU’s carbon market. Known as the Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR), the measure currently covers agriculture, road transport, buildings, waste and small industry,” it outlined.

What does it mean?

The bigger picture here is that the EU has sought to lead the world on climate ambitions and associated regulation, and so European countries not pulling their weight with individual plans to make the transition throws some of that into question, particularly with the European elections this summer having seen a shift to the right for the next five years of the parliament.

In the UK, ahead of the party conference season and the House of Commons returning from the summer recess the week after next, there is no clearer path forward. The previous government’s climate action plan was ruled unlawful several months ago after action by pressure groups concerned at its lack of detail.

The impact for UK businesses?

The response from the UK business world, having witnessed the political posturing over recent years, has tended to be to ignore the politicians. Regardless of those national plans, companies often say they will set and take action on their own targets, focusing on what is within their sphere of influence. With much made in the Labour manifesto about policy pledges, including the “clean energy superpower” drive, expect more detail to be forthcoming at that party conference on the implications for companies with a self-interest in those plans.

In the meantime, there will likely be some political froth in the coming weeks as those other national plans finally emerge and any deviation from what was said before is explained.