EU leaders agree European Green Deal integral to EU COVID response
By Dr Fiona Murray, Passerelle
Now is the time for global sustainable business leaders to demonstrate cooperation and solidarity in the face of the COVID 19 crisis. EU leaders agree that the EU Green deal is integral to the current international public health crisis:
‘The urgency is presently on fighting the Coronavirus pandemic and its immediate consequences. We should however start to prepare the measures necessary to get back to a normal functioning of our societies and economies and to sustainable growth, integrating inter alia the green transition and the digital transformation, and drawing all lessons from the crisis.’
European Council statement, 27th March ’20
On 27th March, EU leaders announced that they were putting the European Green Deal (ECD) and sustainability at the heart of its COVID 19 recovery plan. Sustainability is likely to become even more crucial when the COVID 19 pandemic ends in order to help build resilience into the economy during future crises.
NGOs such as the World Wildlife Fund have been urging the EU to continue to press on with implementation of the ECD work programme, including new Industrial Strategy and Circular Economy Action Plan.
In a joint letter of 26th March, sent to the trio of EU Presidents, WWF and other leading NGOs called on the EU and its governments as part of their COVID 19 stimulus packages to ‘demonstrate leadership and foresight by continuing and reinforcing on the trajectory towards a resilient and sustainable economy, in line with the European Green Deal.’
The group urged that public money needs to be invested in a transparent and sustainable way and support ‘future-proofing’ companies to move to sustainable business models, thus ensuring a higher return on public investment. The letter concludes ‘Channelling stimulus investments in such a way will create long-lasting jobs in clean sectors, helping Europe's economic recovery, and make our economies more resilient against future shocks.’
Governments are set to spend huge amounts to boost their economies once the pandemic is over. Recently the decision has been made to postpone the COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow. There is a view that when the COP26 summit is eventually held, it could be an important forum for ensuring that public money is spent on sustainable and renewable products.
"The pandemic will also reorder to an extent the priorities for COP26, as alongside the UN climate process countries will be devising stimulus packages for economies hard-hit by the crisis," said Adair Turner, Senior Fellow at the Institute for New Economic Thinking.
"With low-carbon stimulus as a new priority for COP26, it should be seen as an opportunity to rebuild economies hit by coronavirus in ways that are healthier, more resilient to future shocks and fairer to a wider range of people."
Sustainable businesses should consider a variety of activities to prepare themselves prior to engaging this market. They can start by reading our EU Green Deal blog series and our thought leadership on branding during a crisis.
Get to know our team and contact us to explore ways in which we might approach positioning your business in light of the COVID crisis in relation to the new EU Green Deal.