What the European Green Deal means for Sustainable Industries
By Tom Carter, Amplia Group Senior Associate
What the European Green Deal means for Sustainable Industries
The European Green Deal (EGD) is one of six headline social and economic policy ambitions proposed by the European Commission. Specifically, the EGD is designed to ensure that European Union (EU) members do all they can to sustain human and ecosystem health on earth. This is the first of four pieces prepared by Amplia Group and Passerelle describing the elements of the EGD and the opportunities they present. The blogs will be organized as follows:
EGD Overview and Climate Change
Decarbonising Energy and Mobility
Sustainable Food and Production
Protecting Our Environment and Financing the Sustainable Transition
All these elements are of course related; for example, each is closely linked to climate change. Taking these connections into account and addressing them comprehensively is one of many characteristics that make the European Green Deal so ambitious and forward-thinking.
An overview of the European Green Deal
According to the European Commission’s 2020 Work Communication on the ECD, keeping our planet and people healthy—despite the “increase in global temperature, the depletion of natural resources, continued biodiversity loss, [and] increasing forest fires, floods and other natural disasters”—is the defining task of our times.
The European Green Deal will target climate neutrality among EU members while simultaneously considering adaptation needs. It will attempt to protect and preserve the natural world, specifically biodiversity and the oceans.
Finally, the EGD includes specific measures aimed at making energy, food, transportation, finance, and production more sustainable.
All of these ambitious measures are envisioned with a deep understanding of the need to ensure that financial, technological, and social structures evolve in concert with implementation of the European Green Deal. This parallel evolution is critical to enhancing equity and broad well-being as the necessary and dramatic changes inherent in the EGD are implemented. A key element of the EGD is “making our economy and industry more innovative, resource efficient, circular and competitive” to nurture continued economic and job growth.
Climate Change as a factor
A key provision of the EGD is a European Climate Law that will be more aggressive, robust, and enforceable than previous agreements under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). They keystone is a binding target for climate neutrality among EU members by 2050. An important stepping stone to the 2050 goal contained in the European Climate Law is a slate of significant greenhouse gas emission reduction targets contained in the 2030 Climate Target Plan. The EU bloc will also use its considerable bargaining power to press other major emitters to adopt aggressive reduction targets in advance of and during the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the UNFCCC, to be held in Glasgow in December 2020.
An additional long-term initiative is the European Climate Pact, which will provide the social structure to implement the changes necessary to achieve the carbon neutrality goal central to the European Climate Law. By involving nations, regions, communities, industry, academia, and individuals, the Pact will acknowledge our collective responsibility to reduce emissions and serve as responsible stewards of our environment.
EGD Action items
The EGD includes a comprehensive suite of specific legislative and non-legislative proposals addressing each of the eight elements covered in the four blogs in this series. Those actions items related to overarching environmental well being and broad climate concerns are:
Communication on the European Green Deal (non-legislative, Q4 2019);
European Climate Law enshrining the 2050 climate neutrality objective (legislative [Article 192(1) TFEU], Q1 2020);
The European Climate Pact (non-legislative, Q3 2020)
In addition, there are three actions specifically addressing climate change in the context of the Commission’s contribution to COP26:
2030 Climate Target Plan, including impact assessment (non-legislative, Q3 2020);
New EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change (non-legislative, Q4 2020);
New EU Forest Strategy (non-legislative, Q4 2020)
What are the Opportunities for Sustainable Industries?
Europe contains the world’s most fertile markets for sustainable goods and services. But implementation of the European Green Deal will significantly enhance these opportunities.
Any company that contributes to reducing carbon emissions, carbon capture, or the need for high-footprint products should explore opportunities in the EU that will spring from the EGD.
The remaining entries in the blog series on the EGD will provide more details on specific industries that can support policies related to low-carbon and sustainable energy, mobility, food, production, and finance.
The industries and companies that begin now to engage in EU policy will have a greater voice in the specific characteristics of the measures to implement the EGD, Climate Law, and the other actions described above.
We are uniquely positioned to provide expertise in sustainability, advocacy, public relations, EU policy and relationship-building with the European Commission.
Get in touch to explore how to encourage supportive policies and maximize markets for products and services that align to the New European Green Deal.