Timmermans: EU climate law will 'discipline' rogue states

"The climate law will discipline everyone in the process [of the Green Deal], especially the political side, to take the necessary steps to deliver climate neutrality by 2050," Timmermans warned.

And the law will also be a "legal opportunity" to hold accountable those who make promises and do not deliver, he added.

Liberal MEP Pascal Canfin, who chairs the parliament's environmental committee (ENVI), called on the commission to ensure that EU's climate law explicitly has a 55 percent emission cut target for 2030 and it is approved before the UN conference in Glasgow (COP26) - with an impact assessment by June.

Polish concerns

However, the climate minister of Poland, Michal Kurtyka, said it was not enough to boast about the EU's climate plan, but delivering on it while ensuring a fair transition towards climate-neutrality for all member states.

"We are pleased that the issue of just transition has been recognised and steps are being taken to ensure that it is truly fair and guarantees solidarity," Kurtyka said.

The Just Transition Fund will comprise €7.5bn from the upcoming EU long-term budget to support projects that are low-carbon and climate-resilient, including re-skilling programmes for miners, jobs in new economic sectors and energy-efficient housing.

Poland is set to receive the upper limit of the fund, fixed at €2bn - despite Warsaw's refusal to commit to the 2050 emissions-neutrality goal.

While the climate transition can bring many benefits, Kurtyka raised concerns over social justice for present and future generations.

"We hope that the commission will take into account the impact that their policies will have on the most vulnerable households in Europe," Kurtyka said.

Where is the money?

Experts have predicted that climate change will be one of the biggest generators of social exclusion and inequalities, said the secretary-general at European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), Luca Visentini, who believes that the money available for the transition is insufficient.

The current situation requires negotiation between member states, the commission and stakeholders to find additional money besides the multiannual financial framework (MFF), Visentini said.

"We cannot set these ambitious climate targets and then not have the money required [to meet them]," he added.

Although the commission's plan for financing the Green Deal will be led by public funds, according to the European commissioner for the economy, Valdis Dombrovskis, the private sector will also have to play its role.

The commission earlier this month unveiled a sustainable investment plan to mobilise at least one trillion euros over the next decade to put Europe on track on track to reach the 2050 emissions-neutrality goal.

However, the ongoing negotiations on the MFF might not give the green light to the numbers presented by the commission.