Rebuilding In Green After The Coronavirus
The European Union proposes environmental policies in the European Green Agreement to overcome the great economic challenge we face. We need to promote renewable energy, protect nature, clean our environment … How far will your commitment go?
An event as important as it was for the United States to send the first person to the Moon. This is how the great European Green Deal (European Green Deal) will be for the European Union (EU) that began to be drawn at the end of 2019. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced it with great fanfare: ” The transformation ahead is unprecedented. “
Thirteen European executives, including that of Spain, have demanded to the Commission that the exit from the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus goes hand in hand with the fight against climate change.
A new economic model for Europe?
In the same vein, a European Alliance for a Green Recovery has been created, made up of 180 political leaders, managers of multinationals, unions, experts and NGOs such as World Wild Fund (WWF) and Birdlife, who call for “massive investments” to create a new economic model that is aligned with “ecological principles”.
The signatories make it clear that Europe must give “a strong coordinated economic response” to overcome a blow harder than the 2008 crisis.
The big goal is to make Europe the first continent “neutral” for the climate in the year 2050. To limit global warming to only 1.5ºC, a threshold that the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) considers safe, the neutrality of Carbon (carbon neutral in English) is essential.
This commitment implies that EU countries will not emit more greenhouse gases (GHG) than can be absorbed. It is a decisive step towards the “decarbonization” of the economy, the final goodbye to the energy system based on fossil fuels and the welcome to the economy of sustainability. Europe will have to allocate between 1 and 2% of GDP to this new challenge.
The countdown has begun
By 2030, the Commission calls for a 40% reduction in GHG emissions compared to 1990 levels, which implies an increase in renewable energies to reach 32% in final energy consumption and 32.5% in savings energetic. It seems ambitious, but environmental NGOs see it as insufficient and consider that by 2030 we should achieve a 65% reduction.
From now on, the spoiled girl will be wind power, which already generates 15% of Europe’s electricity and is today three times cheaper than 10 years ago.
In addition , taxes will be reviewed and CO2 emission limits for cars and trucks will be tightened. The start date will be 2021. On the other hand, the aviation tax exemption will end and it will ensure that the shipment of goods pays for its emissions.
More measures of the European Green Deal
- Electric vehicles. The European Commission projects 1 million public chargers by 2025, although a report by the Transport & Environment group estimates that 1.2-1.3 million will be needed in 2025 and 3 million in 2030. It is expected that in five years there will be 13 million electric vehicles on European roads.
- Offshore wind energy. This renewable, highly requested by Germany, will be supported. The Green Agreement establishes that it can be expanded to reach a production of 450 GW in 2050 (22 GW are produced today in European waters).
- Circular economy. This is one of the star points, because valuable resources and materials cannot continue to be lost in incinerators and landfills. It involves, for example, forcing all EU packaging to be reusable or recyclable by 2030. Another example: a longer shelf life of products is promoted through reuse and repairability, and the ‘right to repair’ is introduced. in computers and mobiles by 2021. There is also talk of requiring a universal charger for phones (something that Apple resists). As for clothing, by 2025 the entire EU must guarantee the selective collection of textile waste.
- Plastic under magnifying glass. Introducing new plastic to the markets will be penalized: packaging companies, construction materials and vehicles will have to use recycled plastic, and there will be restrictions on microplastics. The construction business will also need to adapt and follow the principles of circularity throughout the life cycle of buildings and ecological criteria for public procurement.
- Biodiversity. The idea is to increase the areas protected by the Natura 2000 network, restore degraded forests, increase sustainable forest plantations and green European cities.
Dissenting voices
“The Green Agreement of the EU is good for the climate, but bad for the biodiversity”, they warn from Birdlife International, and they believe that this vague language can hide concessions to the forest lobby. They also warn that changes in agriculture are timid and, although it mentions the reduction of pesticides, it avoids addressing the thorough reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
The fear of the environmental NGOs is that an agreement that again prioritizes continuous economic growth is disguised as “green”, something that collides head-on with the limits of the planet. Is there really a system change? It will depend on our citizen pressure … And this year is key.
From farm to table
With this striking name (Farm to Fork, in English), the EU inaugurates its new food policy. The music sounds good, but you need to know the “final letter”. The idea is that European food, which is already the safest in the world, also becomes the most sustainable. It will be the first EU strategy that encompasses the entire process, from the seeds to the rubbish bin.
- Healthy diet. The consumption of healthy, sustainable and affordable food will be promoted for all.
- Less pesticides. The use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers in agriculture, as well as that of antibiotics in livestock, will be significantly reduced.
- Toxic The Commission’s regulatory framework should reflect the scientific evidence on the risk of chemicals such as endocrine disruptors.
- To choose better. Food must report its origin, its nutritional value and, for the first time, its environmental footprint.
- Waste brake. It will be obliged to reduce the environmental impact with measures on transport, storage and packaging. It also aims to reduce food waste.
