The new Climate Law - all in one boat?

Research shows that solidarity between EU Member States is still a fuzzy term which lacks political and legal clarity. Solidarity implies normative expectations but it is at the same time a legal principle in the making. However, it is unclear what the EU institutions understand by solidarity and what implications the principle of solidarity should have. What do we know about solidarity and climate? Primary law suggests that different solidarity relations are concerned: between EU Member States and between generations. In the past, secondary legislation used solidarity in the climate context as organising principle to share efforts. Also the climate law should provide a structure how to reach the CO2 reduction target by stressing „solidarity and fairness“. This paper aims to research how the institutions envision solidarity and if solidarity is a normative claim only. In a first part, the paper will reflect on the political and legal implications of solidarity between EU Member States. In a second part, I analyse based on an in-depth document analysis (pre-legislative documents as well as press briefs) how solidarity is used in the draft climate law. Particular attention is given to the coupling of solidarity with ‚fairness‘ (Commission proposal) and ‚just transition‘ (Parliament amendment). The research concentrates on the solidarity expectations and its implementation in the legislative process. The analysis will show how the different actors interpret solidarity, how solidarity mechanisms are transposed into action and which vision of solidarity prevails in the process.