A European Green Deal: Articles

The EU’s external dimension of the green deal published at the start of 2021 focuses on a just green transition, calls for the phasing out of harmful fossil fuel subsidies and discourages further investments into fossil fuel-based energy infrastructure projects in third countries. However, since the invasion of Russia in Ukraine one year later, the European Union has been wrestling to find alternatives for Russian gas.

In this issue brief, Global Energy Center experts examine the role of decarbonization in European energy security, the obstacles impeding clean energy development, and the opportunities for transatlantic collaboration towards low-carbon energy security.

US President Joe Biden has worked to repair the damage done to the transatlantic relationship by his predecessor, quickly realigning the United States with Europe on issues of energy and climate change. However, the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 introduced a raft of protectionist subsidies for US clean-energy industries and reignited tensions between the US and the European Union. The EU has warned that the IRA could damage the bloc’s industry and American critics suggest the act may trigger a new US–EU trade war. The Biden administration’s geopolitical internationalism is at odds with its geo-economic nationalism.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting energy crisis are a painful reminder that Europe must reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. For a sustainable, secure and affordable energy future, the coming years will require a massive scale-up of renewable energy across the EU and a tremendous effort by European businesses and households to cut their energy consumption.

The author analyses the EU’s Russian gas dependence and the project of the European policymakers to build energy security.

At first sight, two features stand out in the development of EU climate policy in 2021. First, the implementation of the European Green Deal, launched in 2019, advanced significantly in June and the publication of the Commission's ‘Fit for 55’ package of implementing legislation in July 2021. Second, implementation of the Green Deal proceeded at a time of enduring and intensifying crises. Above the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, this included an energy crisis that unfolded in the course of 2021 and escalated dramatically following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. How has the implementation of the Green Deal fared under these conditions? Has the EU moved closer to, or further away from, a truly effective climate policy in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement?

The article presents the evolution in the conceptualization of energy security in EU policy from a narrow definition restricted to characteristics of energy supply to an expanded conception that integrates additional elements from associated policy areas. It argues that the European Green Deal represents the culmination of this process and concludes that the convergence of energy and climate policy objectives reinforces the trend towards the widened conceptual scope of energy security.

The implementation of the climate agenda (the European Green Deal, the Paris Agreement) will require multilateral cooperation with external partners and other large emitters. Most scholars have described the European Union (EU) as a liberal actor in its approach to international climate and energy governance. This paper argues that the EU has shifted to a strategic approach, including the use of legislation and the adoption of negotiating positions that promote a political agenda.

L'auteur décrit les défis pour limiter le réchauffement climatique bien en dessous de + 2°C et fait valoir qu'il n'y a pas d'autre choix que d'arrêter immédiatement toute nouvelle construction de centrale au charbon et d'accélérer la fermeture du parc actuel. Une nouvelle initiative internationale de gouvernance climatique devrait viser à fermer 1 000 GW d'ici 2035.

The issue of climate change has become increasingly noteworthy in the past years, the transition towards a renewable energy system is a priority in the transition to a sustainable society. The authors have conducted a literature review discovering definitions from different disciplines, secondly, gathering the key factors that are drivers for energy transition, finally, an analysis of the factors is conducted within the context of European Union data. Preliminary results have shown that household net income and governmental legal actions related to environmental issues are potential candidates to predict energy transition within countries.

In the last decade, the Trans-European networks for energy regulation has become a key instrument for delivering an integrated and shock resilient EU energy system. Energy infrastructure is critical to the success of the European Green Deal, the renewed political mission of the Union. The EU’s ability to deliver on its commitment of climate neutrality by 2050 will depend on decarbonising the energy sector, which is currently responsible for more than 75% of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Quels sont les enjeux de cette transition énergétique pour l’Union européenne, et les mesures mises en place pour y répondre ? En quoi pourrait consister un Green Deal (Pacte vert) européen, tel qu’évoqué par la Commission européenne entrée en fonction fin 2019 ? Thomas Pellerin-Carlin présente ici, dans le cadre de ce deuxième volet de la série que Futuribles consacre aux questions climatiques et énergétiques, les réalités actuelles et objectifs de cette Europe de l’énergie. S.D.

Les bioénergies ont procuré en 2018 environ 8 % de toute l’énergie finale consommée dans les 27 pays de l’Union européenne (UE) ; elles représentent 57 % des énergies renouvelables.

EU development programmes have for long promoted the gasifiction of the Western Balkans. Outgoing EU Energy & Climate Commissioner Canete has said he expects all the EU’s gas markets to be well connected and resilient to supply shocks by 2025. For SE Europe this is possible, but there remains a lot of basic infrastructure and market building to be done. This paper provides the context for analysing progress towards such a goal.

This study provides information on requirements and goals for successful transformation towards a climate neutral future at regional level in the EU. Based on the analysis of six regional best practice examples across the EU, the key drivers, conditions and instruments for a successful transformation were identified.

Analyses the WTO’s Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (ASCM) consistency of three selected support schemes for emission reductions. The analysis reveals that the current system of carbon leakage protection through free allocation is vulnerable to challenges under the ASCM. By contrast, a transition to a combination of free allocation and a charge on carbon-intensive materials would implement consistent carbon-pricing and thus would very likely not amount to a subsidy under the ASCM.

The European Green Deal aims at climate neutrality for Europe by 2050, implying a significant acceleration of emission reductions. To gain the necessary support, it needs to reduce regional and social inequalities in Europe. The scenario outlined in this article is meant as an input to the urgently needed discussion on how the European Green Deal can shift the EU economy to a new development path that realises a carbon-neutral Europe by 2050 while strengthening European cohesion.

This report seeks to understand how this major EU legislative initiative can help deliver the clean energy innovation needed to avoid a climate disaster. It concludes that regulation is a very powerful tool to stimulate innovation. The EC should therefore use its ‘Fit for 55’ proposals to boost the creation, testing, scale up and deployment of clean energy innovation.

Le rôle de la culture dans le développement durable se reflète dans tous les domaines dans de nombreux objectifs de l'Agenda 2030 ; par conséquent, ce programme est non seulement essentiel pour les relations culturelles internationales et la politique culturelle extérieure au niveau des États membres de l'UE, mais aussi pour les relations culturelles extérieures de l'UE

This study sketches a "Fit for 55" package that can ensure both environmental integrity and solidarity. It investigates four options how to regulate heating and transport emissions, focusing in particular on the pros and cons of expanding emissions trading to these sectors. It makes the case for a smart mix of EU-level carbon pricing and companion polices.

To achieve its ambitious climate targets, the European Union (EU) must adopt new policies, increase the impact of existing policies and/or remove dysfunctional ones. Data that member states have reported to the EU over the last ten years reveal that the average expected per-policy-instrument emission reduction has declined, while national policy mixes have remained generally stable over time. This is strikingly discordant with the EU's ambitious commitment to become carbon neutral by 2050 ('net zero').

Amener le système énergétique européen à la neutralité carbone d’ici 2050 nécessite d’y apporter des transformations considérables, notamment en procédant à une forte réduction de la consommation de gaz naturel. Cette évolution pourrait exiger des changements très significatifs des infrastructures gazières actuelles et ainsi de compromettre le rapport coût-efficacité des investissements dans les infrastructures gazières, constituant des actifs échoués.

The EU has set the ambition for Europe to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. This will require a step-change in emissions reductions across the European economy, including in energy-intensive industries, such as steel, cement, aluminium, paper and chemicals.

In the fight against climate change, the European Union has developed a new growth strategy to transform Europe into the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. To support EU member states in their transition towards greener economies, climate change mitigation policies are being implemented at the EU-level. However, such policies can be designed in different ways, and gaining citizens’ support is crucial for the political feasibility of the European green transition. This study theoretically and empirically distinguishes four policy dimensions that address the distributive politics of the European green transition: sectoral scope, social spending, financing structure and cross-country distribution.

Shaping the global transition to a clean economy is vital for the EU to ensure its long-term prosperity and security. However, the international dimension of the European Green Deal – central to the EU’s domestic agenda – is poorly defined. The EU can better mobilise the tools within the European Green Deal to drive and secure its place in the global transition, as well as decarbonisation at home. This European Green Deal Diplomacy toolbox will strengthen the EU’s response to increased competition from other transition models.

If the EU wants to show global leadership on the climate transition at COP27 and beyond, it needs to change its international relations and internal economic policies to consider the complexities of the climate transition. Beyond the crucial focus on climate finance to help affected countries adapt, the EU urgently needs to explore new approaches to its international cooperation and trade partnerships.

Just transition is becoming an increasingly popular concept to address the social consequences of industrial decarbonization, which EU countries have committed to pursue through the European Green Deal. These consequences include increasing redundancies – especially in carbon-intensive firms – and losses of income and well-being in marginalised communities. However, a review of the reference literature shows that the role of just transition in policy design has so far been largely overlooked by existing empirical studies.

Analyses the elements of the European Green Deal (EGD) and examines the content of each policy, with a focus on the impacts on employment, disposable income, and public acceptance of the political transformation. It also sets out whether there are likely to be any social justice impacts and makes suggestions for mitigating negative impacts and amplifying positive ones.

La lutte contre le changement climatique passera par une transition résolue vers une économie verte. Ce n’est pas qu’un impératif d’adaptation et d’investissement pour l’industrie. Nos modes de vie seront aussi directement affectés. Nous pouvons relever le défi économique mais il faut annoncer plus clairement aux ménages que l’adaptation a un coût.

Many green technologies with a great potential to contribute to the EU’s green transition are currently being developed in research laboratories across the EU. Giving green technologies the best chances to reach market maturity and have an impact in transforming our societies will take us a step closer towards achieving sustainability goals.

Ecological concerns and energy dependence have pushed all countries to seek alternative sources. This has prompted researchers and policy makers to turn to renewable energy sources that promise safe and environmentally friendly supplies. The objective of this article is to systematically review the main work linking renewable energy and economic growth and then to rank them clearly in order of importance to identify gaps and opportunities for further research.

This note outlines the challenges and opportunities for mobilising the EU’s resources to support its climate ambitions. To achieve its ambitions, the EU would need to take some steps, including adopting a climate justice perspective into EU climate action, credibly implementing the ‘do no harm’ principle and the commitment to align to the Paris Agreement, and exploiting the enhanced coordination envisioned by Team Europe.

The authors argue that although global climate financing has increased by 60% over the period 2013-2018, this is not enough. The article looks at the European Green Deal and how the EU is set to achieve the sustainable development goals. It argues that resources should be dedicated to climate adaptation, which has been neglected, in particular by European finance institutions.

En novembre 2020, le conseil d'administration de la banque a approuvé à l'unanimité sa feuille de route pour le climat marquant ainsi une étape décisive dans la mutation de la BEI en une banque européenne du climat. Cette feuille de route met en exergue la manière avec laquelle la BEI va soutenir la relance verte dans ce contexte de crise liée à la Covid-19, à l'appui du pacte vert pour l'Europe et des objectifs de développement durable (ODD) au niveau mondial.

The sustainable finance agenda is a critical part of the European Green Deal. It sets public standards for identifying activities that will accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy, standards that can be deployed to steer private finance from brown towards green activities. This brief identifies three pillars of a progressive approach to greening the European financial system that would render private finance a critical lever in the transition to low carbon economies.

La gestion de la dette – Covid ou non, nationale ou commune – doit être traitée de façon bien distincte de la question du plan de relance. Cependant, afin d’en assurer la soutenabilité à très long terme, il faut maximiser la valeur sociale, environnementale et économique de la relance économique avec de bonnes métriques pour mesurer les impacts et définir les critères de succès, des outils d’évaluation économique pour sélectionner les projets et en apprécier les impacts macroéconomiques.

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of how the EU can best ensure a ‘just transition’ in all its territories and for all its citizens with the tools at its disposal. It provides an overview and a critical assessment of the Commission's proposal, and suggests possible amendments based on best practices from other just-transition initiatives.

Since the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015 – whose preamble explicitly refers to the just transition – an important debate has started on how to manage the ecological transition in a fair and orderly way. Faced with the great transformations of our times, from technology to the need to respond to climate change, it is essential to put the issue of a just transition at centre stage when designing a “Green New Deal”. This is a key necessity to protect and offer a credible alternative to those most affected by change.

La Commission européenne a présenté le 14 janvier 2020 une proposition de règlement visant à créer un "Fonds de transition juste" placé au sein d'un Mécanisme du même nom. Ce dispositif, qui repose sur trois piliers mêlant financements publics européens, nationaux, locaux et privés, aura pour but, d'une part de garantir la reconversion professionnelle de personnes directement concernées par l'extinction prévisible d'activités fortement émettrices en carbone, d'autre part de permettre la revitalisation économique et la réhabilitation foncière des territoires situés sur l'ensemble du continent, principalement en Europe centrale et orientale.

There is a need to outline the EU's vision and initiatives: the European Green Deal and the future European taxonomy demonstrate a strong normative and political commitment to climate. Turning this progress into an opportunity, not only at the European level but also at the global level, with shared outcomes, is however a work in progress, whose major challenges are identified here with recommended solutions.

The recovery measures announced by Europe in parallel with the Green Deal are the perfect opportunity to step up the effort to measure the impact of public expenditure, both in the short and in the long term. To that aim, it is essential to quickly stabilise benchmarks to measure the financial and non-financial impact of investments in the European recovery plan.

The article's analysis shows that under the current investment mandates and lending criteria the required funds for a successful energy transition are available. However, institutional investors and lenders such as pension funds and banks in particular are reluctant to invest in the renewable energy or grid infrastructure because of expected (policy) discontinuities. Based on the analysis, the authors develop a matrix indicating the role and availability of different sources of finance and new intermediation channels in the energy transition and how these should be deployed.

Changing narratives surrounding the climate and environmental crisis have shaped the degree of ambition in the approach of EU policy-makers towards the sustainability transition and sustainable finance. This paper presents the evolution of EU sustainable finance policies between 2015 and 2019, focusing on the EU Taxonomy, arguing that as European narratives have shifted towards highlighting the severity of the climate and environmental crises, EU sustainable finance policies have also accelerated.

The aim of this working paper is to provide a preliminary assessment of whether the European Green Deal constitutes a suitable policy framework to combine environmental and economic objectives with the pursuit of social fairness, thus ensuring a just transition towards more sustainable economies and societies.

The Commission is proposing the first EU-wide voluntary framework to reliably certify high-quality carbon removals. This is a necessary instrument to reach the EU's climate, environmental and zero-pollution goals. Carbon removals can and must bring clear benefits for the climate, as well as preserving or strengthening other environmental objectives.

Few countries have declared sector-specific emission reduction targets in agriculture, making it difficult to construct and assess realistic climate mitigation scenarios for analytical and policymaking purposes. This article aims to fill this analytical gap by using a set of cluster analyses to gauge likely ambitions levels in reducing agricultural emission at country-level, taking into consideration important country-level characteristics and referencing the 'common but differentiated responsibilities' principle.

The Green Deal made public by the European Commission includes the Farm to Fork strategy, which aims to implement actions for a transition towards more environmentally friendly agricultural systems, capable of adapting to climate change and, as far as possible, contributing to its mitigation. A really ambitious goal, clearly aligned to a more than necessary green transition, raises a series of challenges and doubts that should at least be pondered.

The report exposes key lobbying tactics used by the pesticide industry to undermine and derail the EU's Farm to Fork targets.

On 20 May 2020, the Commission launched its long-awaited farm to fork strategy. The strategy is a first attempt to define long-term objectives for a healthy, just and sustainable EU food system that addresses both food production and consumption. This report highlights five important steps for an ambitious implementation of the EU farm to fork strategy – on EU, national and regional level.

This study investigates food policy governance structures and approaches at the local and regional levels which are used to make territorial food systems more sustainable. The aim is twofold: 1) to understand the role of European local and regional authorities (LRAs) in territorial food system governance and 2) to outline LRAs’ contribution to the European Commission’s Farm to Fork strategy (COM(2020) 381 final).

In May 2020, the European Commission published the Farm to Fork Strategy aiming to create a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system. The Strategy is an important element of the European Green Deal. This article outlines the Draft Action Plan and evaluates four clusters of proposed legislative actions. It then analyses how the Strategy will impact food businesses by focusing on two proposals.

This paper reviews the findings from the last 20 years on the behavioural factors that influence farmers’ decisions to adopt environmentally sustainable practices. It also proposes policy options to increase adoption, based on these behavioural factors and embedded in the EU Common Agricultural Policy.

Energy efficiency is a pillar of the European Green Deal and it is undoubtedly one of the biggest challenges. This paper argues that the renovation of buildings in European countries is insufficiently advanced and most buildings are inefficient, to the point that the targets set for 2030 are not expected to be achieved.

This publication explores how the EU is stepping up urban governance programmes and cooperation with cities to make the most of its Green Deal and the window of opportunity for systemic change. It examines how the Green Deal will support the climate and energy transition already underway in urban areas; and how local climate action can contribute to and accelerate Europe’s path towards carbon-neutrality by 2050.

This article puts forward that the European Green Deal (EGD) is more than just another initiative for green growth. Instead, it adds a building block to the European economic model, alongside the single market and economic and monetary union. The pandemic crisis would therefore need to be addressed also through the EGD framework. We find that the Covid-19 crisis provided a missinglink between the EGD’s long-term objectives and conducive short-term policies.

In order to approach a system change towards a circular economy model (CE) in Europe, the entrepreneurial activities of young people need to be encouraged to achieve the Green Deal (GD) goals. This article presents the evaluation results of young people’s awareness and attitudes towards the CE and the GD. The data used in this study was collected by surveying 286 young people from five European countries.

Unlike traditional industrial policy, green industrial policy must be directed to twin goals of climate protection and social welfare. Green industrial policy initiatives in the EU so far, however, have been piecemeal and fragmented. This blueprint examines how the EU can develop a coherent green industrial policy that will serve the goals of the European Green Deal.

The main question pursued in the study is whether expectations verbalized in the Green Deal’s plans, programs, strategies, and developments hold up to the scrutiny of critical discourse analysis. It compares the Green Deal’s treatment of sustainability to how sustainability is presented in environmental and social science scholarship and point out that research, on the one hand, and the politically motivated discourse, on the other, do not correlate and often actually contradict each other.

The aim of this paper is to link the concept of green public procurement (GPP) to the nowadays popular circular economy (CE) concept by exploring the possibilities of circular public procurement. The legal framework will be specified at all stages of the suggested procurement cycle (preparation, tendering, execution, monitoring) and the connected instruments that support GPP will be summarized.

Cette étude évalue comment les banques publiques de développement (APB) ont interprété et inclus les priorités de développement durable dans leurs processus et opérations. Les gouvernements, les actionnaires et les autres parties prenantes devraient également contribuer à cet effort d'alignement en renforçant le soutien politique et le soutien aux PBDE.

The paper is structured in three parts: 1). some reflections on the essence of the circular economy concept; 2). reviews the European Union positions vis-à-vis the circular economy and the large scale utilization of hydrogen, with reference in particular to the most recent strategic documents ; 3). evaluates the feasibility and implications of the transition to a hydrogen based economy and the relation of this transition to the circular economy. The conclusions state that the adoption by the European Union of a hydrogen strategy represents a significant step towards a true circular economy

This study presents the key results of a research that analyses the implications of an ambitious agroecological transition across Europe, following the TYFA scenario. Published in 2018, what it proposes by 2050 is fully aligned with the objectives that the European Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategies aim to achieve by 2030, in particular regarding the decrease in pesticides, nitrogen, and antibiotics on the supply side, and the transition towards more plant-based diets on the demand side.

This briefing provides an overview of the wide range of socio-economic benefits that nature-based solutions can achieve alongside addressing the intertwined climate change and biodiversity loss crises. The briefing highlights the central role these solutions can play in achieving the EU’s 2030 commitments and describes the obstacles that have so far prevented their wider integration into EU policy. It also identifies recommendations to enhance their uptake.

This paper outlines remaining gaps and opportunities on how to best scale up efforts to meet the current EU policy framework’s 2030 objectives. It provides ideas for how the new EU Restoration Plan could be operationalised through concrete tools, measures and strategies to allow Member States to scale up their efforts, while complementing existing policies and contributing to the broader European Green Deal agenda.

In a context of deteriorating biodiversity in Europe and worldwide, the Commission put forward a renewed and ambitious biodiversity strategy in May 2020. This paper analyses the synergies between green and digital transitions. Digitisation can be established as a key element for greater sustainability and contribute to an ecological recovery from the Covid crisis.

International trade has a direct impact on EU biodiversity, imported invasive species and pathogens, being an example. Trade also impacts global biodiversity, for instance through the ‘virtual’water, land, and deforestation contained in EU imports. Protecting global biodiversity calls for a variety of instruments, at the EU border as well as in the provisions of preferential agreements

The EC’s recent sustainable and smart mobility strategy reiterates the urgency of transitioning to zero-emission airports, whereby ‘the best practices followed by the most sustainable airports must become the new normal and enable more sustainable forms of connectivity’. Against this backdrop, the 14th Florence Air Forum examined the contribution of European airports and the wider aviation ecosystem.

To support the delivery of achieving climate neutrality in Europe by 2050 in relation to transport, which accounts for a quarter of the EU’s total greenhouse gas emissions, the EC has declared 2021 as the European year of rail. The brief argues a significant modal shift will be needed from less environmentally sound modes, such as road and aviation, towards the greenest modes, namely rail and inland waterways, without compromising the connectivity of goods and persons, which is at the heart of the single market.