An Earth Day to remember: EU and US leaders step up climate ambition

Last week was a big week for global climate ambition, with President Biden convening 40 world leaders for a virtual Climate Summit on the occasion of Earth Day. To mark the occasion, a number of countries followed the US’ lead in making tangible commitments to reduce emissions. This followed news that, earlier in the week, EU lawmakers had reached an agreement on the ‘European Climate Law’ after 14 hours of ‘trilogue’ negotiations between the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council of the EU.

News
25 Apr 2021
Environment, Energy
An Earth Day to remember: EU and US leaders step up climate ambition

The renewed climate ambition shown by the US, as well as the passage into law of the EU’s flagship ‘Climate Law’, alongside the EU’s upcoming ‘Fit for 55’ package demonstrates the importance of transatlantic leadership to drive the climate change agenda.

Climate change requires a global solution. Increased commitment from emitters worldwide, as well as global cooperation among countries and regions is a step in the right direction. The EU and the US have been instrumental in establishing the momentum for an energy-efficient, low-carbon future, which would ensure the competitiveness of their markets. The transatlantic partnership remains critical for the uptake of solutions that will help achieve climate neutrality by 2050. As representatives of the American business community in Europe, we look forward to continuing to play our role as an engaged partner in the fight against climate change.

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Europe’s clean industrial transition will depend on policies that can unlock investment, strengthen energy systems and support sustainable transport. From Tuesday, 16 to Wednesday, 17 June, AmCham EU travelled to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France for a series of meetings on EU transport, energy and climate policy developments. The delegation engaged with Members of the European Parliament and political group advisers to share business perspectives on Europe’s clean industrial transition. Discussions focused on the Industrial Accelerator Act, the revision of the EU Emissions Trading System, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, the Grids Package and energy security. Members highlighted the need for predictable, technology-neutral rules that support investment, strengthen Europe’s industrial base and preserve openness to trusted partners.

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Today, the European Parliament adopted its Omnibus VI report, including the revision of the Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) Regulation, by 540 votes to 60. The outcome supports a more streamlined framework by easing the regulatory burden on value chains that rely on chemicals and sending a positive signal of the EU’s commitment to reducing unnecessary complexity.

With the Council’s position agreed in November 2025, the Parliament’s report marks the final step before trilogues, which will conclude negotiations on the targeted revision of the CLP Regulation.

The report largely aligns with the Commission’s simplification agenda and strengthens the CLP Regulation’s overall workability, especially with regards to:

  • Transition periods, setting 18 months following classification updates and allowing digital contact information to be updated on the label in line with suppliers’ regular update cycles. This better reflects supply chain realities.

  • Advertising and distance sales requirements, appropriately excluding business-to-business settings while ensuring consumers remain protected; and

  • Label legibility requirements, with more proportionate minimum font sizes and rules on background contrast, spacing and overall layout. However, further simplification is still needed to ensure sufficient flexibility for businesses.

While the report represents a constructive step forward, trilogues should address remaining constraints and clarify language that is currently difficult to interpret, including further simplification on font sizes and advertising requirements in business-to-consumer settings. These negotiations should draw on the more proportionate approaches of the Commission and the Council.

Maintaining a strong focus on simplification will be key to further alleviating administrative burdens and strengthening the EU’s resilience and competitiveness.

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