Slovakia submitted its final updated National Energy and climate plan (NECP) on April 15, 2025, which was more than nine months after the original deadline of June 30, 2024. The NECP provides an overview of key the country's objectives and contributions within the Energy Union and climate action.

The plan's main goal is significant decarbonization. Slovakia expects to reduce total greenhouse gas emissions (excluding the LULUCF sector) by 64.3 % by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.

Decarbonization: Targets exceeded, but dependent on implementation

In the area effort sharing (ESR) Slovakia addressed the Commission's recommendation and provided sufficient information on how it will meet its emission reduction target by -22.7 % by 2030 compared to 2005. According to the latest projections, the implementation of existing and planned policies and measures should lead to a decrease of 31.5 % by 2030. This represents an exceedance of the national ESR target by 8.8 percentage points. ESR sectors accounted for 53.4 % of Slovakia's total emissions in 2023, with transport expected to account for the largest share by 2030.

Achieving this ambitious scenario (WAM) is conditional on the implementation of key measures such as: introduction of electric vehicles, building insulation, electrification and implementation of the ETS2 system (Emissions Trading System for Buildings and Road Transport). Although the plan describes a significant decrease in emissions in the buildings sector by 2030 (-42.8 % compared to 2005), Slovakia has not yet transposed the ETS2 measure into national law, which may delay the Social Climate Plan.

In the area LULUCF (land use, land-use change and forestry) Slovakia aims to improve net removals by -0.5 Mt CO2 eq. by 2030. Although this sector absorbed approximately 27.4 % of total CAP emissions in 2023, projections based on 2019 data suggest that by 2030 it will still there is a risk of a gap of 1.9 Mt CO2 eq..

Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency: Insufficient Ambition

Slovakia has partially addressed the Commission's recommendations in the area of RES. The national ambition for the share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption was slightly increased to 25 %. However, this contribution is considered by the Commission to be significantly lower than the 35 % required in accordance with the EU formula.For comparison, in 2023 the share of RES was 17.0 %. Planned steps include the designation of zones for accelerated development of RES, with two pilot areas for wind energy to be launched by 2026, and the simplification of permitting procedures.

In the area energy efficiency The NECP sets an indicative national contribution for final energy consumption for 9.6 Mtoe and for primary energy consumption per 16.4 MtoeBoth contributions, however, are not in accordance with the revised EED (recast). For example, the revised indicative contribution for final consumption that the Commission submitted to Slovakia is 8.7 Mtoe. In 2023, final consumption was 9.3 Mtoe and primary consumption was 15.5 Mtoe.

Missing Details and Regional Reluctance

The NECP also contains several shortcomings, particularly in the area of strategic planning and financing:

1. Funding: The plan estimates that the implementation of the WAM scenario requires EUR 80 billion in investment (in industry, households, services and transport). However, the document does not provide details on investment needs, financing gaps and sources for policy measures, nor does it specify how private investment will be mobilised.
2. Fossil fuels: Although Slovakia has phased out coal-fired electricity generation in 2024 (except for Vojany Power Plant), no clear roadmap has been set for phasing out fossil fuel subsidiesThe Commission recommends developing a roadmap with specific measures.
3. Just Transition and Energy Poverty: Slovakia did not address the recommendation regarding a comprehensive analysis of the social impacts of the energy transition, beyond the regions financed by the Just Transition Fund (JTF). While steps have been taken to define energy poverty, the plan lacks targeted strategies and measures to mitigate it.
4. Regional cooperation: Slovakia does not plan to intensify regional cooperation. Although the plan refers to discussions in the Visegrad Forum and CESEC, it is not clear that Slovakia plans to strengthen its participation in other cooperation frameworks.

The Commission calls on Slovakia to focus on the timely introduction of all ESR policies in its implementation, in particular in transport, and to adopt a roadmap to achieve higher ambition in the area of energy efficiency. JRi