Insights from the Policy Brief

In this policy brief, ESR12 Federica Muscaritoli continues her research on the interplay between EU public procurement and climate change mitigation law. In the EU, Green Public Procurement (GPP) has traditionally involved the voluntary inclusion of environmental considerations in public procurement. However, with the adoption of the EU Green Deal, the Fit for 55 strategy, and the EU Climate Act, public procurement has become central to the EU’s environmental agenda. New legislation now mandates specific environmental requirements in procurement, moving beyond the previous voluntary framework. Given that public procurement contributes to 15% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, further measures may be needed to align procurement with the EU’s climate neutrality goal by 2050.

Problem statement

The EU’s approach to climate change mitigation focuses on achieving a net-zero balance between emitted and absorbed GHGs, as outlined in the Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR), which assigns Emission Reduction Targets (ERTs) to Member States. However, this regulation does not explicitly cover the public procurement sector.

Although scholars have proposed various definitions of Low Emissions Public Procurement (LEPP), EU law has yet to comprehensively address the role of public procurement in achieving ERTs. National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) often mention public procurement as a tool for reducing emissions, but its integration varies widely across Member States. Examples from Portugal, Lithuania, and Greece illustrate this inconsistency. To advance current efforts, it is recommended that Member States more systematically incorporate procurement into their climate strategies, possibly by distributing ERTs to local authorities and establishing clear rules for integrating climate targets into public procurement procedures.

Target Audience

This policy brief is mainly addressed to national and EU legislators (see Key findings 1 and 2). In case Member States have already in place a system of distribution of Emission Reduction Targets quotas comprising contracting authorities, this policy brief is addressed also to public buyers (see Key finding 3).

Key findings

1. Leveraging public procurement as a decarbonization tool
2. Set Emission Reduction Target quotas for contracting authorities
3. Define technical specifications in terms of performance requirements