{"id":130256,"date":"2023-08-11T07:14:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-11T05:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=130256"},"modified":"2023-08-08T09:19:56","modified_gmt":"2023-08-08T07:19:56","slug":"the-twilight-days-of-the-european-green-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/the-twilight-days-of-the-european-green-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"The twilight days of the European Green Deal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

The European Commission tabled its Green Deal in December 2019<\/a>, at the beginning of its mandate, proclaiming this was Europe\u2019s \u201cman on the moon moment\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The European Union has spent the last few years working on an overhaul of its energy, climate and environment policy, but the pace is beginning to slow as it reaches the home stretch. [Myriams-Fotos \/ Pixabay<\/a>]<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The initiative, which included reforming much of the EU\u2019s energy, climate and environment policy, weathered unexpected crises, including an economic slump caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia\u2019s military aggression in Ukraine, which caused energy prices to soar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Green Deal not only survived these crises but also emerged stronger from them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between 2019 and 2022,  the EU enshrined its net zero goal into law<\/a> for 2050 and further increased its planned targets on emissions reduction<\/a>, renewable energy<\/a> and energy efficiency<\/a> in response to the Ukraine war while strengthening its carbon market<\/a> accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other flagship initiatives under the Green Deal include a law banning the sale of new petrol and diesel cars<\/a> as of 2035 and a carbon tariff at the EU\u2019s border<\/a> to protect European industries against environmental dumping from countries like China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s very important to consider that all of these efforts were done during one of the most turbulent periods in our recent history,\u201d said Simone Tagliapietra, a senior fellow at economic think tank Bruegel and a professor of energy, climate and environmental policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think that [Ursula von der Leyen\u2019s Commission] have really set the right destination in the GPS, and they started the journey by rolling out the necessary legislation,\u201d he told EURACTIV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But despite this momentum, 2023 has seen a noticeable slowdown, with EU leaders calling for a halt on new green laws, the right wing of the European Parliament turning against biodiversity legislation,<\/a> and the Commission\u2019s Green Deal superstar, Frans Timmermans, looking to leave early<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dwindling appetite for green legislation<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This year, French President Emmanuel Macron called for a break from new green legislation<\/a>, a sentiment quickly echoed by Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It marked the beginning of a slowdown for the Green Deal, most clearly seen in the battle that raged over the Nature Restoration Law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A pillar of the Green Deal\u2019s biodiversity objective, the Nature Restoration Law aimed at restoring 20% of land and sea areas by 2030. But it became extremely contentious, with EU countries baulking at the impact on farmers<\/a>, while the centre-right European People\u2019s Party launched a campaign to kill the proposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the law ultimately passed to the next stage of negotiations<\/a> with amendments to address concerns, the restoration actions were also significantly weakened by both the European Parliament and EU countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the EPP, the battle on the Nature Restoration Law was also a test run to build new alliances in Parliament ahead of the 2024 elections,<\/a> where nationalist parties in the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group are expected to make big gains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also reflects a shifting political landscape where environmental legislation has become more controversial, especially when it comes to issues related to agriculture and land use, said Antoine Oger, a research director heading work on sustainable development goals at the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), a think tank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe argument went from a scientific one \u2013 how much the soil in the EU can sustain in terms of yield and agricultural production over the long term \u2013 to politically-driven, short-term arguments related to adaptation costs,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Oger stressed this debate is counterproductive as the biggest threat to the European population and farmers is not environmental legislation but the climate crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alongside this, there are questions about the impact of Timmermans\u2019 early departure. While in the Commission\u2019s top climate job, he fought hard for the Nature Restoration Law and has been a driving force for green legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the Green Deal\u2019s architect turns his gaze to Dutch politics, he leaves big shoes to fill ahead of final negotiations on the Nature Restoration Law and the COP28 climate summit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The slowdown has also affected other aspects of environmental policy, including a goal to strengthen Europe\u2019s chemicals legislation overhaul, which has been delayed and is at risk of being watered down<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Industrial policy black hole<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Energy policy is another area where the brakes have kicked in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Europe set ambitious objectives on renewables and decarbonisation for 2030, it has failed to implement a coherent industrial policy to back it up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, the electricity market reform, which countries had hoped to agree quickly, has been delayed by fights over nuclear power<\/a>, reflecting deep divisions between EU member states over the role of atomic energy relative to renewables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, the Net Zero Industry Act, designed to boost domestic manufacturing of technologies needed for the green transition, has become an ill-fitting substitute for a wider policy on industrial decarbonisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have never been able to develop a solid green industrial policy in the EU,\u201d said Tagliapietra, adding this is not a fault of the Commission but due to EU countries seeing this as an issue of national sovereignty and competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s crystal clear that if Europe wants to face China, the United States and their massive green industrial policies, we need to act together and leverage our single market and economies of scale. If we don\u2019t do that, we are irrelevant at the global level,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Green Deal 2.0\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Tagliapietra believes this needs to be tackled by the next European Commission, which will take over in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to him, this could take the form of a \u201cGreen Deal 2.0\u201d, focusing on concrete initiatives fostering the decarbonisation of Europe\u2019s economy in a way people understand and which provides economic and social benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis time around, we need to really get serious about the industrial economic dimension of this. We need to be honest, we need to be clear that this will have economic implications, which we can manage with good policymaking, and we can really turn this into an opportunity if we are good at setting the right policies,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd we need to clarify that there is no plan B. There is no possibility of doing nothing or slowing down the process because we see what happens [otherwise],\u201d he said, referring to the wildfires, heatwaves and droughts that have swept across Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Focus on implementation<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A major part of the next European Commission\u2019s job on the green front will be to ensure the agreed laws are properly rolled out in EU countries. Without this, the EU\u2019s agreed climate and energy targets simply risk being missed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, this could be challenging as some of the legislation, like the ban on sales of new combustion engines in 2035<\/a> and new building standards<\/a>, directly impacts European citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese are sectors where climate policy directly enters the ordinary life of people,\u201d said Tagliapietra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere might be a higher risk that people see these as something imposed on them by a faraway elite in Brussels. And that is something we need to avoid,\u201d he added, warning against a \u201cvicious cycle\u201d where politicians agree on green legislation in Brussels, but complain about it back home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The outcome of the European elections will also dictate the next Commission\u2019s agenda, particularly as the \u201cgreen wave\u201d seen during the last European elections<\/a> could well be receding in favour of nationalist parties with a noticeable distaste for EU environmental policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnother green wave is very unexpected,\u201d said Oger. \u201cEvery poll at the moment tends to go towards the reinforcements of the conservative bloc at European level,\u201d he told EURACTIV, although he added that the recent Spanish elections showed polls are not always 100% accurate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, Oger points to the extreme heatwave and wildfires experienced this summer, saying could help tip the scales in favour of green politicians next year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The European Commission tabled its Green Deal in December 2019, at the beginning of its mandate, proclaiming this was Europe\u2019s \u201cman on the moon moment\u201d. The initiative, which included reforming much of the EU\u2019s energy, climate and environment policy, weathered unexpected crises, including an economic slump caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia\u2019s military aggression in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":105,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","nova_meta_subtitle":"The European Union has been steaming ahead with its Green Deal for the past four years, but as it reaches the home stretch, a pushback on environmental legislation and shortcomings in industrial policy are set to slow it down","footnotes":""},"categories":[5572],"tags":[21522,22542,16496,22310,14055],"supplier":[2317,5585],"class_list":["post-130256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bio-based","tag-carbonmarkt","tag-emissionsreduction","tag-greendeal","tag-netzero","tag-renewableenergy","supplier-european-commission","supplier-european-union"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/105"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130256"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130256\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130256"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=130256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}