EU level representative democracy and the climate challenge

This report studies the role of non-legislative processes in EU climate change policymaking from the first von der Leyen Commission through to September 2025. We analyse processes whereby the European Commission is given the mandate to amend basic legislation (through delegated and implementing acts), and processes in which the Council of the European Union acts as the sole institution able to amend Commission proposals (emergency procedure under TFEU Article 122). We study how these processes contribute to policymaking efficiency and any potential trade-offs for democracy. Our empirical analysis consists of a database of all non-legislative processes pertaining to climate policy since 2020 initiated by DG CLIMA, DG ENER, and other relevant DGs, complemented by 10 semi-structured interviews conducted with policymakers working at the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the permanent representations of EU member states. We find that non-legislative processes have been used more frequently over time, and are a rapid means to update or clarify policy: implementing act processes are completed quickly, with delegated act processes taking somewhat longer. However, non-legislative processes tend to sideline or only partially reflect certain key features of democratic governance systems: including representation, accountability, participation, and knowledge. Our results highlight an important tension in EU climate policymaking between the need for efficient policymaking and democratic decision-making—in other words, between rapid emissions reductions and policymaking procedures that are inclusive, fair and just. More research is required to study this tension, and to draw attention to it, particularly in a constrained political context in which climate action is a lower priority, especially following the results of the 2024 European elections.