An end to dependence on fossil fuels – the EU President must set out clear facts and measures for phasing them out!
In an open letter, the organisations are calling on the EU President to clearly set out the costs of dependence on fossil fuels in her State of the Union address on 16 September 2026 and to release the necessary funding to enable the phase-out.
This summer has demonstrated in a particularly painful way just how much people and nature are suffering as a result of the EU’s still far too great dependence on fossil fuels: whilst prices are skyrocketing and more and more households and businesses are facing rising costs, the climate crisis – particularly in the form of extreme heat and drought – is taking an ever-greater toll on people and the environment. In June alone, it is estimated that more than 14,000 additional people died in Europe. In Luxembourg, the excess mortality is estimated at around 50 people by the end of June – and the heatwave was still far from over at that point.
Yet the painful dependence on fossil fuel imports has been well known, at the very least, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Nevertheless, Europe remains heavily dependent and, consequently, vulnerable to geopolitical crises.
In light of these facts, Mouvement Ecologique is joining forces with CAN Europe and over 200 other European organisations to demand that this dependence be made a central theme of the State of the Union address. They are calling for a scientific analysis that sets out the full economic and financial burden of this dependence with clear figures. In addition, a roadmap for a rapid and consistent phase-out of fossil fuels should be set out, and the necessary funding mobilised.
It is essential to ensure that this transition is implemented in a socially just manner, in order to support vulnerable households, businesses and regions. Nature, too, must be protected as our most important ally in the fight against the climate crisis and strengthened through additional investment.
Read the full letter here: https://caneurope.org/app/uploads/2026/08/soteu-2026-letter.pdf
Translated by deepl.com
02.09.2026