Timmermans, Frans: The Commission’s main man on the Green Deal. Poorer Central European countries will say that the transition is more expensive or disruptive for them. Explore the live extension of our journalism, The wonk's survival guide to the EU Green Deal, April 19 — Rewriting the Transatlantic Tech Playbook, April 20 — The coming shakeup of the EU Emissions Trading System, May 18 — POLITICO Virtual Interview: In Conversation With Nick Thomas-Symonds MP, The Wonk’s Survival Guide to the European Green Deal, Circular Economy Action Plan for a Cleaner and More Competitive Europe, Creating a ‘better normal’, not just a ‘new normal’, Tim Brett, president of Coca-Cola Western Europe. It’s a sign that concern over climate change has migrated from the margins to the heart of EU policymaking. The European Green Deal provides an action plan to. Von der Leyen, Ursula: There was precious little in the German’s pre-Commission career that hinted at a future pushing tough climate targets. Latest news, analysis and comment from POLITICO’s editors and guest writers on German politics. The second way in which the Green Deal could succeed is by lowering the costs of the energy transition for everyone. That’s causing anxiety in coal-dependent economies like Poland, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria, as well as in capitals around Europe, which will need to start addressing emissions in tough places like their building stock, trucks fleets and steel plants. The aggressive pursuit of decarbonization across the EU will provide the funding support and the economies of scale for innovation in clean technologies. Not to be confused with Hans Brusselmans. The EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) — its largest subsidy program — and the Green Deal have some big issues to resolve if they are to work in alignment. POLITICO has a quick guide to the EU’s headline project to ensure you can hold your own with the acerbic Dutchman. As Europe increases its climate ambitions, “we expect the rest of the world to play its role too,” an EU official explained. The decline was doubtless helped by the early, heavily subsidized installations in Europe, which in 2012 accounted for 70 percent of total solar installed capacity. Most of today’s greenhouse gases come from power production and transportation, but there are also significant contributions from industry, commercial and residential fuel combustion and agriculture. Climate Law:The legislation meant to make the bloc’s 2050 goal of slashing greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero legally binding. Exasperated by the arduous negotiations, two EU members recently resorted to unusual means: Both the French and Spanish governments sent letters to the EU. Timed to come out during the annual global COP climate talks, the report has often informed the agenda in the battle against global warming. Learn more about editorial content presented by outside advertisers. Parliament wants the Green Deal to be at the core of the EU’s Covid-19 recovery package. A mix of cash from the EU budget and loans from the European Investment Bank to “support the transition towards a climate-neutral economy by public sector authorities.” There’s a song about the EIB (no, really) that’s a mix of heavy metal and music hall. “The older I get, I realize the science is my oxygen. The Green Deal is no longer the hazy aspiration of a few climate action enthusiasts; it is a detailed mainstream policy document affecting every sector in one of the richest, most sophisticated economies in the world. The centerpiece is the European Climate Law, which is in the final stages of negotiation between EU institutions. Dimitris Valatsas is the chief economist at Greenmantle. It’s bad. POLITICO’s got you covered. “The European Climate Law,” said Timmermans at the law’s presentation in March, “is also a message to our international partners that this is the year to raise global ambition together, in the pursuit of our shared Paris Agreement goals.” As the European Union sets out a more ambitious climate policy, carbon price floors provide an opportunity to place greater emphasis on altering expectations, so that market agents anticipate today higher future pay-offs from low-carbon investment. Hydrogen: The latest hot new energy trend in Brussels, Berlin and Paris. The goal is clear, even if the man in charge doesn’t know exactly how it can be reached. All illustrations by Marcus Marritt for POLITICO. The idea of a Green New Deal has been kicking around US politics since at least 2006. The European Parliament has called for the entire fund to be boosted to at least €25 billion. The controversy will extend way beyond climate targets. Green Deal, Greener World... Last week, the European Commission issued its “Communication on the European Green Deal”—the European Union’s legislative roadmap to carbon neutrality by 2050. Read more. To understand why, it’s worth learning a bit about the U.S. program from which the Green Deal gets its name. Was allowed into the European Parliament in Brussels in April, despite a coronavirus-inspired ban on access to the building. EIB public sector loan facility: One of the three parts (or pillars, if you prefer) of the Just Transition Mechanism (see below). But in driving its climate agenda, the EU is also taking a leaf out of Trump’s playbook: It suggests a provision for a “carbon border adjustment mechanism”—in other words, a carbon tariff. Latest news, analysis and comment from POLITICO’s editors and guest writers on French politics. Troops After All. It might be best to avoid the subject of agriculture altogether. Why is the EU Commission promoting a lose-lose (pay more, get less) strategy rather than the straightforward use of green electricity, where it will deliver bigger CO2-reductions and for less money? By logging in, you confirm acceptance of our POLITICO Privacy Policy. This year, the group’s research showed the (limited) impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cutting global emissions. Concerns about the efficacy of Sinovac and Sinopharm has dented their reputation, even among allies of Beijing. The EU and its member states have one last hope for preventing a wave of ECT lawsuits. Its powerful instruments and innovative governance will drive the necessary systemic changes to reach climate neutrality and ensure an inclusive ecological and economic transition. But she’s used climate as a bargaining chip to win over left-leaning groups, and has made the Green Deal the centerpiece of her presidency. Good investments pay themselves back, so the Commission predicts overall impact on GDP will be minimal. In a live webcast in July, Pictet Asset Management’s co-head of clean energy Xavier Chollet explained that one reason why the EU Green Deal has transformed into a large economic stimulus is because of the Covid-19 health crisis. Given how popular the climate agenda is in Western Europe, it seems likely that the EU will commit to this rule. Sea level rise alone could be costing Europe €135 billion to €145 billion per year by the 2050s, rising to €450 billion to €650 billion by the 2080s. Used the subsequent press conference to call the EU Climate law a “surrender.” Mic drop! In presenting her Green Deal last week, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described it as Europe’s “man on the moon moment.” It is an apt metaphor for the endeavor: The United States put a man on the moon on its own, paying the full cost for Neil Armstrong’s giant leap for mankind. Argument: But the EU plan is, and proving the feasibility of decarbonization is the first way in which it can help spread climate action policymaking beyond Europe’s borders. Dezember 2019, 18:53 Uhr Europa: Kritik am "New Green Deal" Detailansicht öffnen. “There is a real imbalance between what the science community produces and how fast the policymakers are moving,” she said about the motivation behind starting the publication in 2004. Horizon Europe, in synergy with other EU programmes, will be key to leveraging national public and private investment. Added to those environmental concerns, the EU is worried about being left behind in a green technology shift. The Green Deal was a UK government policy initiative that gave homeowners, landlords and tenants the opportunity to pay for energy efficient home improvements through the savings on their energy bills from 2012 to 2015. Finally, EU diplomatic efforts will be mobilised in support of the Green Deal. Despite this being the EU’s most vaunted policy, it’s curiously lacking in detail. Why hydrogen is no magic solution for EU Green Deal. So when he says there needs to be a “just transition, or there will just be no transition” (and he will), it’s because it’s close to his heart. Greenpeace EU spokesperson Franziska Achterberg said: “Ursula von der Leyen is promising the European Green Deal will tackle the runaway climate crisis and the massive destruction of nature. The cornerstone of the Green Deal is the EU Climate Law which will enshrine the objective of carbon neutrality by 2050. Although that will likely be one of the most contentious aspects of the Green Deal, it is hard to imagine how else the EU could combat carbon leakage, where products that fall foul of environmental regulations if produced in the EU are simply imported from elsewhere, creating the same carbon emissions with none of the economic benefits. Campaigning, lobbying and political influence in the U.K. What’s driving the day in Paris, en français, The weekly digest of the best stories in U.K. politics, SPONSORED CONTENT FROM COCA-COLA IN EUROPE. Finally, the EU sees climate change as an issue that allows it to play the role of a global power — pestering the U.S. to rejoin the Paris Agreement, making deals with China and pressing other countries to also boost their climate pledges. Fear not! He’ll have to find a way to get the auto industry to institute radical new emissions standards for cars and trucks, and accept that they will soon be subject to Europe’s carbon pricing system. But the climate targets she’s proposing would be too little too late. Upfront investments will be needed to switch energy, industry and transport to clean tech. Under a European Council proposal, Germany, with its large coal industry, was slated to receive the second-largest share of the pie, despite being one of the bloc’s wealthiest countries. Latest news, analysis and comment on security in Europe and beyond. There is no scientist in my family; I didn’t know this existed as a profession … I went to science because I had a good physics teacher in high school.”. Le Quéré chairs France’s High Council on Climate and is a member of the U.K. Committee on Climate Change — both independent scientific advisory bodies set up to keep government climate policy on track. Greta Thunberg Calls Out EU Green Deal Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg addresses the environment committee at the European Parliament in Brussels as they unveil their Green Deal. France has seen four environment ministers since the current government took office three years ago, and London has kept up a similar pace of rotation. Social Sharing. “You need that long-term view that is independent of the political party, that provides advice, practical advice, on how to move forward,” she said. boost the efficient use of resources by moving to a clean, circular economy; restore biodiversity and cut pollution ; The plan outlines investments needed and financing tools available. Experts are divided on which is worse: climate apocalypse or Netflix show “Emily in Paris.”. Steam and exhaust rise from different companies on a cold winter day in Oberhausen, Germany, on Jan. 6, 2017. The EU’s green deal is a colossal exercise in greenwashing | Yanis Varoufakis and David Adler . Philippines Leaning Toward Allowing U.S. In foreign-policy terms, too, a unilateral approach will increase the risk of confrontation with traditional allies and trading partners that do not share its ambition on climate action. Log in to access content and manage your profile. Le Quéré, 54, wanted to be a sports teacher but missed the application deadline by a day … and ended up studying physics and oceanography in her native Canada. This Wonk’s Survival Guide is produced with full editorial independence by POLITICO reporters and editors. GNDE, in fact, provides for the establishment of an income for all those who take care of people, the urban and rural environment, and the natural world. Beyond 2030, the additional investments are 1 percent to 2 percent of GDP, about €4.6 trillion between 2031 and 2050. If the EU succeeds in its ambitions, it will be able to tell the world that prosperity is not incompatible with climate sustainability. That’s a huge success for the scientists, lobbyists and campaigners who have waged a decades-long battle to make global warming a central concern — something helped by Australian, Siberian, Brazilian, Portuguese and Californian wildfires, melting icecaps, summer heatwaves, ferocious storms, coastal floods and steadily climbing atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Don’t worry, it’s not a heavy read. Sounds lovely, but it comes with a lot of terminology and buzzwords. After all, the EU accounts for only 10 percent of global emissions—and any gains made there would be more than wiped out elsewhere. Latest news, analysis and comment on defense in Europe and beyond. “We thought having something that comes on an annual basis with the COP meeting when policymakers meet would be much more useful.”. In Europe, the letter concludes, this request is now incorporated into a new political-economic proposal, the Green New Deal for Europe, which makes it a cornerstone of its climate justice program. When presidential candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt promised a “New Deal” for a depression-struck U.S. in 1932, he didn’t really have a plan. This package of measures has far-reaching implications, not only for European consumers and businesses, but also for suppliers and markets globally. How Far Will the Ethiopian-Eritrean Alliance Go? To begin with, it proposes that the bloc only agree to new comprehensive trade agreements with countries that are parties to and are effectively implementing the Paris agreement—most obviously excluding the United States if President Donald Trump is reelected next year. New data proves you can support capitalism or the environment—but it’s hard to do both. But the EU is a long way behind China, Japan and the U.S. when it comes to tapping its potential. On protecting nature, much is aspirational and needs to be fleshed out. That will enshrine the goal to reach net zero emissions in 2050 into law, plus a host of measures to achieve it. It covers every aspect of society and the economy and includes goals for biodiversity and agriculture. Green Deal, Greener World Just Transition Fund: Yet another part of the Just Transition Mechanism. Greenhouse gas emissions by sector in EU countries plus the U.K. in 2016, in millions of tons of CO2-equivalent: The Green Deal is, in the European Commission’s ponderous vernacular: “a new growth strategy that aims to transform the EU into a fair and prosperous society, with a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy where there are no net emissions of greenhouse gases in 2050 and where economic growth is decoupled from resource use.”. Vier Aufgaben im Rahmen des Green Deals („Green-Deal-Missions“) werden dazu beitragen, umfassende Veränderungen in Bereichen wie Anpassung an den Klimawandel, Ozeane, Städte und Böden herbeizuführen. Instead, she dives back into pure science. Clevere Gegenrechnung: Kommissionschefin Ursula … The Green Deal isn’t a law. It took time to develop the right tools to rebuild the economy. The failure of the Kyoto Protocol and the intended U.S. withdrawal from the Paris agreement amply demonstrate that decarbonization cannot rely on multilateralism alone. In March 2020, the Commission will adopt an EU industrial strategy to address the twin challenge of the green and the digital transformation. The European Green Deal is the European Commission’s blueprint and roadmap to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, with a sustainable economy that leaves no one behind. Anyone familiar with the history of energy transitions, including experts who are supportive of the plan, will attest that this is just not scientifically possible. “If you’re looking at a household in 2050, you have a completely transformed set of ways that you cook, heat your home, interact with other human beings, move around and the jobs you do.”. Latest news, analysis and comment from POLITICO’s editors and guest writers in Europe. Each year the analysis makes headlines around the world. Campaigning, lobbying and political influence in the EU. At the heart of the Green Deal was the rule that savings on bills would exceed the cost of the work. The "European Green Deal" aims to make the EU the world's first "climate-neutral" continent by 2050. “When I had enough, when I am stressed, when I am depressed, I look at my model, I go back to the basics, I look at my carbon sink in the ocean … to me this is my anchor.”. Here’s an alternative. Becoming a scientist happened “accidentally,” she said. There is no doubt that the European Green Deal is ambitious: It aims to decarbonize the world’s second-largest economy within three decades. It combines climate change mitigation, environmental protection and biodiversity conservation with social justice and economic growth. To reach this 2050 goal, action will be required by all sectors of our economy, including: investing in environmentally-friendly technologies; supporting … Which begs the question: Why don’t we just shut down Germany? The U.N. dials up the pressure campaign against Myanmar’s putschists. A recent guest on POLITICO’s EU Confidential podcast. It is a package of measures that aims to radically cut emissions of greenhouse gases while creating jobs in clean industries. A prize-winning climate scientist, she’s an adviser on climate policy to both the French and British governments. It’s a push for sustainable consumption and keeping resources “in the EU economy for as long as possible.” Quiet at the back, single-use plastics industry! By driving the economy toward carbon neutrality, EU climate policymaking can prove as much for others. To overcome these challenges, Europe needs a new growth strategy that transforms the Union into a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy where there are no net emissions of greenhouse gases. The . The past 30 years have already given observers a taste of that: From 1990 to 2018, the EU’s emissions were down 23 percent. InvestEU is an umbrella term for EU funding schemes, with the Green Deal cash being just one of many. They will argue that richer countries, with less carbon-intensive economies, should do more. Beyond that, expect the coming year to see a flurry of new regulations, plans and changes to EU law: strategies for agriculture, hydrogen, building renovation, offshore wind energy, methane pollution, sustainable investment, the circular economy and a litany of others are all working their way through the Brussels bureaucracy. Finally, to be successful, the EU will need to use its economic size and influence in trade and foreign policy if it is to drive climate action worldwide. Nonetheless, for the Green Deal to become a true game-changer, its ownership, solid implementing regulations, sufficient and targeted resource mobilisation for nature-based solutions and a strong assessment of the possible undesired effects outside of the EU need to be ensured. It attracted my attention,” she said. Together they will foster new technologies, sustainable solutions and disruptive innovation and spread successful new sol… Youth climate activists led by Greta Thunberg accused EU Green Deal chief Frans Timmermans of lacking the courage to align the bloc's massive farm subsidies scheme with his own flagship climate goals. Moreover, the deal’s long but still visible horizon—slightly longer than one generation—means that this goal is technically achievable while still addressing activists’ concerns. That effort to use science to nudge policymakers also underpins Le Quéré’s work in France and the U.K. “It’s actually an essential role to have an independent advisory body like [the ones she sits on], because governments come and go … ministers in particular, there is a very, very rapid rotation,” Le Quéré said. These days, when Le Quéré needs a break from getting politicians to look seriously at climate change, she doesn’t turn to sports. An diesen Aufgaben wirkt ein breites Spektrum von Interessenträgern mit, darunter Regionen und die Zivilgesellschaft. “The share of hydrogen in Europe’s energy mix is projected to grow from the current less than 2% to 13-14% by 2050,” according to a draft Commission strategy. The European Green Deal is a set of policy initiatives by the European Commission with the overarching aim of making Europe climate neutral in 2050. Its GDP was up by 61 percent. But it’s actually another part of the Just Transition Mechanism (see below). If it succeeds, the benefits will spread far beyond the borders of Europe. Climate change and environmental degradation are an existential threat to Europe and the world. The distribution of the €17.5 billion Just Transition Fund will also be deeply contested. Latest news, analysis and comment on elections in Europe and beyond. Horizon Europeis the EU's next research and innovation programme starting in 2021. Kritik am "New Green Deal" 4. Here's how. All the cool kids are using it. The EU is doing the same thing for sustainable living here on Earth. But in a world in which emerging markets keep increasing greenhouse gas emissions and the United States is pulling out of the Paris agreement on climate change, one may well ask: What’s the point? The wrangling will start when Timmermans presents legislation on how to meet the 2030 target in June 2021. Timmermans is sure to tell you that the deal is intended to be Europe’s “new growth strategy.”, But it’s about more than that. Next year, instead of arguing over whether the EU should cut emissions by 55 percent, countries will fight over who must shoulder the most burden. How is Timmermans going to reform Europe’s existing policy infrastructure to ensure it all serves the emissions goals? “I didn’t know what to do. All of those emissions have to flatline in only three decades. Schulze, Svenja: The German environment minister who is tasked with leading negotiations among EU countries on climate. Not doing that could thwart the goals of the European Green Deal. A survivor of regime atrocities explains why the international community must act. To succeed, the EU must embrace climate unilateralism. Latest news, analysis and comment on migration in Europe and beyond. But that slim size conceals a big punch. The Commission’s Green Deal also includes elements of European policy that are unlikely to be welcomed in some member states: it wants to tap into its own revenue streams for climate protection and questions the principle of unanimity where taxation is concerned. The European Green Deal is a document so thin you could print it out and not feel like you would be in breach of an EU forestry directive. The European Commission today presented The European Green Deal – a roadmap for making the EU’s economy sustainable by turning climate and environmental challenges into opportunities across all policy areas and making the transition just and inclusive for all. Circular economy: The Commission’s “Circular Economy Action Plan for a Cleaner and More Competitive Europe” is one of the main thrusts of the Green Deal. How Coca-Cola is supporting Europe’s green recovery. Those 24 pages lay out a radical project to make the EU climate neutral by 2050 — that means the world’s second-largest economy will stop adding to the earth’s stock of greenhouse gases by then. If you do not have a login you can register here. In March 2020, the Commission proposed the EU Climate Law, to make the Green Deal’s target for a carbon-neutral Europe by 2050 legally binding. Latest news, analysis and comment from POLITICO’s editors and guest writers on the continent. Once elected, he canvassed and experimented widely and brought in surprising thinkers and ideas. “We had, on the one hand, protecting our health and on the other, protecting our economy. Green Deal, Greener World Unlike the U.S. Democrats’ Green New Deal, the European Union’s version is technically feasible. Find out more about this roadmap for a climate-neutral Europe. Current climate policy approaches are ill-suited for these regimes. The fund is there to help “support the economic diversification and reconversion of the territories concerned” — and, one suspects, because it wouldn’t be the EU if there weren’t two things that sound the same but aren’t quite the same. The report is part of a research programme run by the PRI throughout 2019 and early 2020, drawing from interviews with investors and the PRI’s own programmatic research. Meeting Timmermans’ proposed 2030 stepping stone on the way to 2050 — a 55 percent cut in emissions compared to 1990 levels — will require an additional €82 billion to €147 billion in spending every year.