Sustainability in Europe – the major challenges:
→ Climate change, sea level rise, and extreme weather events
→ Loss of ecosystems and biodiversity
→ Environmental pollution and health effects
→ Social justice in the transformation process
A joint response: the European Green Deal (EGD)
The goal: Make Europe the world’s first climate-neutral continent
The EGD is an economic and climate package featuring a variety of measures to make Europe the first economically successful, climate-neutral continent. It includes new and improved European laws, climate and energy policy strategies, and instruments for financing the economic transformation.
Goals to be attained by 2050:
→ No more additional greenhouse gas emissions (“net zero emissions”)
→ European economy working as resource-efficiently as possible
→ No person or region left behind in the transformation process
Boell.Thema: Europe – a Promise
This article is part of the Böll.Thema magazine. With this edition, we provide information about the history and future of the EU.
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Core areas of the EGD
→ Zero pollution and toxins
→ Transition to a circular economy
→ From farm to fork: sustainable food system
→ Conservation and restoration of ecosystems and biodiversity
→ Sustainable transport systems
→ Climate neutrality
→ Clean, reliable, and affordable energy
→ Energy- and resource-efficient construction and renovation
Accompanying measures:
→ Financing the transformation
→ Justice (“leave no one behind”)
→ Research and development
Selected key data:
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December 2019: European Commission (EC) presents the EGD
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January 2020: European Parliament approves the EGD with requests for improvement
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May 2020: EU budget and Covid-19 emergency aid package (“Next Generation EU”), earmarking 25% for climate protection
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July 2020: New rules for sustainable investments (“taxonomy”) enter into force
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May 2021: Presentation of the Zero Pollution Action Plan
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July 2021: European Climate Law comes into force: Climate neutrality by 2050 and a 55% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2030 becomes mandatory
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July and December 2021: EC presents the Fit for 55 package, setting the path toward a 55% greenhouse gas reduction in various areas
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March 2022: REPowerEU: joint action for affordable, secure, and sustainable energy
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December 2022: Ban on deforestation-linked goods, establishment of the Climate Social Fund
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March 2023: Energy consumption to be reduced by 38% by 2030
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October 2023: Revised Renewable Energy Directive, including the higher target of a 45% share of renewables in energy consumption by 2030
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November 2023: European Parliament votes in favor of restoring ecosystems on 20% of EU land and sea areas
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December 2023: Revised electricity market rules, e.g., for more investment security for renewables and price stability for households and companies
Did the EGD do too little, too late, and cave in to pressure?
Environmental associations, scientists, and environmental politicians have criticized the weak points of the EGD, including:
→ Greenhouse gases in the EU would have to drop by at least 65% by 2030 in order to achieve the 1.5°C target.
→ Important steps such as improving the Chemicals Ordinance or a law for sustainable food have been temporarily suspended under pressure from industry associations.
→ There are currently no targets for reducing resource consumption: What are the future limits on raw material consumption?
→ The new environmental and climate laws are not tied strongly enough to social policy and a fair tax policy.
→ EU international trade policy continues to serve economic profit in the Global North, while poorer countries supply labor and raw materials.
→ The Member States watered down stricter requirements for energy-efficient building renovation (and blocked uniform rules for energy taxation, which means fossil fuels can still be subsidized).
European elections 2024: What comes after the European Green Deal?
→ The new EU political leadership still has to meet the goals set by the EGD.
→ It is time for a European Green Deal 2.0 – featuring powerful tools for financing and implementation and new laws to close existing gaps!
Patrizia Heidegger is Deputy Secretary General of the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) and Director for European Governance, Sustainability and Global Policy.