Stringent Climate Policies: A Journey Leading to Negative Results
In 2024, the world witnessed a global wildfire crisis, with blazes erupting on all corners of the planet, including the US, Canada, Australia, Greece, Spain, and Portugal. Amidst this backdrop, the escalating climate crisis has put Europe's green transition under the spotlight.
However, the EU's approach to green investments has been marked by political fragmentation, economic competitiveness concerns, and socioeconomic inequalities.
The European Union's fiscal and economic framework, which includes rules limiting headline deficit to 3% and debt to 60% of member states' GDP, has been a major culprit of austerity. This rigidity has had unintended but predictable political consequences, helping pave the way for a wave of far-right populism across Europe.
The EU's Recovery Fund (NextGenerationEU), established in 2020, aims to provide 800 billion euros in grants and loans to support member states, with a requirement to spend around 40% on climate measures. Yet, the return of austerity in Europe is evident, with economic orthodoxy impacting climate policies in France and Germany.
The European Green Deal, launched in 2019, set a target of reducing emissions by 55% by 2030. However, many of its measures revolve around competitiveness and growth, without clear references to social protection or quality jobs for those who are meant to make the transition happen.
The far right in Europe is increasingly challenging the continent's climate agenda, framing climate policies as an elite-driven imposition on ordinary citizens and claiming that they are unaffordable and prioritize elites over the needs of the general public. Without sufficient financial support for vulnerable communities, the far right may once again exploit economic hardship and resentment toward political elites.
The new legislative cycle will likely see an intensified struggle over the EU's climate policies, with the success of the European Green Deal depending on addressing inequities and ensuring that the green transition tangibly benefits all Europeans, leaving no one behind. The imperative is to deliver the green transition in a speedy manner, with robust social security schemes capable of buffering the political consequences of climate austerity.
References:
[1] European Parliamentary Research Service. (2021). The European Green Deal: A critical assessment.
[2] European Investment Bank. (2020). Green finance at the European Investment Bank.
[3] European Commission. (2020). A European industrial strategy for the global digital and green transition.
[5] European Trade Union Confederation. (2020). Just transition: A social perspective on the European Green Deal.
The escalating climate crisis, a part of the broader environmental-science discourse, has become a prominent issue in Europe's general-news landscape, particularly in light of the 2024 global wildfire crisis.Politics, however, remains a significant obstacle to effective climate-change mitigation in the EU, with far-right populism exploiting economic hardship and resentment towards political elites, challenging the continent's climate agenda.
