This week, the decisions made in Brussels will shape the continent’s climate trajectory for decades. POW Europe is making sure the outdoor community’s voice is heard loud and clear.
Key takeaways:
+ EU Environment and Climate Ministers are meeting this week, on 17 March and 19-20 March 2026, to negotiate the post-2030 climate framework.
+ In an open letter to national ministers and commissioners, POW Europe is advocating for a strong 2040 climate target, an end to fossil fuel subsides, building national emissions targets and stronger governance mechanisms.
+ With the Alps warming at twice the global average rate, POW Europe argues that climate ambition and economic competitiveness are inseparable. Regulatory certainty, not rollback, is what allows outdoor and mountain businesses to plan for the future.
Post-2030 EU climate targets
On 17 March 2026, environment and climate ministers of EU member states will convene for the Environment Council followed by the European Council on 19-20 March. Together, these meetings represent one of the most consequential moments for European climate policy in years, as leaders negotiate the post-2030 framework that will determine whether Europe remains a credible global leader on decarbonisation.
Signals from recent political gatherings — including the Antwerp Declaration and the informal Leaders’ retreat in Alden Biesen last February — have raised serious concerns about a drift toward deregulation. POW Europe believes this is the wrong direction. Simplification must never be a backdoor for weakening the ambitions of the European Green Deal.
POW Europe's open letter to EU member states
Today, POW Europe and its national chapters sent an open letter directly to the environment and climate ministers of several EU member states as well as to the cabinets and advisors of three key European commissioners: Wopke Hoekstra (Climate Action), Teresa Ribera (Green Deal & Competition) and Jessika Roswall (Environment).
These are the decisionmakers with the most direct influence over the post-2030 climate policy framework, the 2040 climate targets, the integrity of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) and the binding nature of national climate commitments.
What POW Europe wants from EU leaders
Our letter calls for four concrete commitments:
1. A strong 2040 Climate Target — at least 90% net greenhouse gas reductions, achieved primarily through domestic emissions reductions, not offset accounting.
2. Phasing out fossil fuel subsidies — and accelerating the transition to sustainable mobility, including rail and low-carbon transport, particularly for mountain regions and outdoor destinations.
3. Maintaining binding national climate targets — ensuring Member States remain individually accountable for their share of the collective effort, with clear distinctions between emissions reductions, biogenic sequestration, and industrial removals.
4. Strengthening the Governance Regulation — binding 2040 energy targets in National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs), robust compliance mechanisms, and meaningful public participation. Streamlining, yes — but never at the cost of predictability or investment certainty.
POW EU'S advocacy work
The open letter is part of a wider, sustained effort. This builds on our advocacy around the 2040 EU Climate Target, where we made clear that Europe is still far from where it needs to be.
A few weeks ago, POW Europe submitted its response to the European Commission’s Open Public Consultation on the new European Climate Resilience Framework, calling for mountain regions to be formally recognised as Europe’s “water towers” and for cryosphere dynamics — glaciers, snowpack and permafrost — to be explicitly integrated into EU water and resilience frameworks. We called for mandatory climate stress-testing of all EU-funded projects, the phase-out of maladaptive subsidies, and a dedicated Just Transition Mechanism for winter-dependent economies in the next MFF (2028–2034). We also stressed that resilience and competitiveness are two sides of the same coin: regulatory certainty, not rollback, is what allows European outdoor and mountain businesses to invest and plan for the long term. This week, POW Europe will also submit to the Governance Regulation Revision, including on fossil fuel subsidies.
What's at stake for the outdoor community
The Alps are warming at twice the global average rate. Glaciers are retreating, snowpack is declining, permafrost is thawing and destabilising mountain infrastructure. Rivers that millions of people depend on for drinking water, agriculture and hydropower are fed by the very glaciers and snowfields that climate inaction is melting away.
For POW Europe’s network — athletes, mountain guides, ski resort operators, outdoor brands and tourism businesses — this isn’t abstract policy. It’s the ground beneath our feet.
Climate ambition and economic competitiveness are not in opposition. They are the same bet. An ambitious post-2030 framework is the foundation for Europe’s resilience, its clean industrial future, and the natural environments that underpin the mountain economy.
Read the full open letter (PDF).
Top image: © “Austrian Alps II” by Alkuin, CC BY-ND 2.0 / Flickr
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16 March 2026
Protect Our Winters Europe calls EU Member States to support an ambitious post-2030 climate policy framework
To the Environment and Climate Ministers of the Member States of the European Union,
Ahead of the Environment Council meeting on 17 March 2026, and in advance of the European Council meeting on 19 and 20 March 2026, Protect Our Winters Europe would like to draw your attention to several key decisions that will shape Europe’s climate and economic trajectory for decades to come.
Over the past years, Europe has established itself as a global leader in decarbonisation, climate-forward policy and socially responsible transition strategies. These efforts have been widely supported by civil society organisations, the scientific community and businesses across the continent, including the outdoor industry and mountain economy represented by Protect Our Winters (POW) Europe. However, the rapidly evolving global context now appears to be prompting a reconsideration of the Union’s priorities, risking a slowdown in the level of ambition that has so far defined European climate leadership.
Let us be clear: the strategic autonomy of the European Union and the long-term competitiveness of its industries can only be secured through a credible and ambitious decarbonisation pathway. Climate ambition and economic competitiveness are not opposing goals, they are mutually reinforcing pillars of Europe’s future prosperity.
In this regard, the Antwerp Declaration and the recent informal Leaders’ retreat in Alden Biesen last February 2026 have raised concerns due to their strong support for a broad deregulation agenda. Such an approach risks repeating past mistakes by delaying necessary investments, deepening Europe’s dependence on fossil fuels and ultimately weakening the Union’s position in the global race for clean industrial leadership.
Europe must modernise and strengthen its industrial base. This transformation is precisely what was outlined in the report The Future of European Competitiveness by Professor Mario Draghi and reaffirmed through the ambitions of the Clean Industrial Deal. However, this modernisation will not materialise if the policy framework weakens existing environmental
and climate commitments or introduces measures that fall short of the level of ambition required.
POW Europe represents athletes, outdoor enthusiasts, scientists and businesses whose livelihoods depend directly on healthy mountain ecosystems and stable winter conditions. Our network includes both the outdoor community and companies operating across the outdoor economy, from winter sports manufacturers and outdoor brands to mountain resorts, guides and tourism operators. Through its work, the organisation closely monitors the impacts of climate change on Europe’s mountain regions and winter-dependent economies. Scientific assessments show that Europe is warming approximately twice as fast as the global average, with the Alpine region experiencing even faster temperature increases. This accelerated warming is already driving rapid glacier retreat, declining snow cover and permafrost thaw, destabilising mountain slopes and increasing risks for alpine infrastructure, settlements and transport networks through rockfalls and landslides. At the same time, mountains function as Europe’s water towers: glaciers and seasonal snowpack store water and regulate river flows, and their decline threatens the freshwater systems that sustain agriculture, hydropower generation and communities downstream. These changes are also already reshaping winter seasons, affecting snow reliability, and mountain economies that depend on stable natural conditions.
In light of these developments, POW Europe respectfully calls on you to exercise the responsibility entrusted to you and to safeguard the long-term interests of future generations. At this critical moment, it is essential not to backtrack on the European Green Deal, but rather to reaffirm Europe’s commitment to an ambitious and credible path toward net-zero emissions.
To support the future of Europe, we call for a full commitment and consideration over the following measures:
1. 2040 Climate Targets and ETS: A strong and credible 2040 Climate Target is essential to keep the European Union on track toward climate neutrality by 2050. Protect Our Winters Europe supports a science aligned pathway of at least 90 percent net greenhouse gas emissions reductions by 2040, while ensuring that the majority of this progress is achieved through domestic emissions reductions rather than reliance on international carbon offsets or accounting flexibilities. The integrity of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) must therefore be preserved as a central tool to drive real decarbonisation across Europe’s economy, providing a predictable carbon price signal that accelerates clean investment and innovation. Allowing excessive flexibilities or external offsets within the framework risks weakening the credibility of the target and delaying necessary structural transformation in key sectors such as energy, transport and industry.
2. Phase-Out Fossil Fuel and Fossil Fuel Subsidies: Transport remains one of the largest and fastest-growing sources of emissions, particularly in tourism-dependent regions. Mountain regions and outdoor destinations are heavily impacted by transport-related emissions and climate disruption. Supporting the transition toward sustainable mobility - including rail connectivity and low-carbon transport solutions is therefore essential both for climate mitigation and for maintaining access to mountain regions in a sustainable way.
3. Maintain Binding National Climate Targets: Binding national climate targets must be maintained to ensure Member States’ responsibility and accountability in collectively delivering the EU’s climate objectives, while reflecting principles of equity and solidarity in effort sharing. These targets should clearly differentiate between emissions reductions, biogenic sequestration and permanent industrial removals. Greater flexibility between these categories risks weakening incentives for progress in key sectors such as transport, buildings and agriculture, ultimately undermining the objective of economy-wide decarbonisation.
4. Improve the Governance Regulation: National Climate and Energy Policies are a key tool for delivering Europe’s decarbonisation pathway. Member States should commit to binding alignment with the European strategy, supported by clear key performance indicators to monitor progress and identify areas requiring further action; this would allow the identification of areas where additional efforts are required while recognising progress and societal engagement in sectors where implementation is advancing successfully. NECPs should include binding energy targets for 2040, with a strong focus on renewable energy deployment. At the same time, the Governance Regulation should strengthen compliance and implementation mechanisms, ensure timely reporting and safeguard meaningful societal participation in consultation processes. While POW Europe supports streamlining certain procedures, simplification must not lead to deregulation, which would undermine predictability, investment certainty and the credibility of the EU’s climate and energy objectives.
At a time of growing geopolitical uncertainty and accelerating climate impacts, maintaining Europe’s climate leadership is more important than ever. An ambitious and credible climate framework will not only reduce emissions -it will strengthen Europe’s resilience, support innovation and safeguard the natural environments and communities that underpin many of Europe’s regional economies.
Yours sincerely,
Protect Our Winters Europe
protectourwinters.eu
