Wednesday, April 21, 2021

The European Green Deal and the Quest for Global Tipping Points

By Professor Bruce Murray, Retired Resident Director of the Illinois in Vienna Programs

On the eve of the U.S. Global Climate Summit (Earth Day 2021), the European Union reached a breakthrough with its EU Climate Law. Ten weeks earlier, in February 2021, six University of Illinois students and I began our investigation of the European Green Deal. The EU ambition to lead climate mitigation efforts globally motivated our choice of its plan for our case study. Our goal has been to identify best practices for combating climate change in the EU that can be replicated elsewhere. With that in mind, learning what might be useful in the United States and in the transatlantic partnership has been of particular interest. So, too, has been determining what practices initiate domino effects, leading to rapid and widespread adoption everywhere. In other words, we have sought existing and potential tipping points in the EU and transatlantic context to accelerate the transition to global sustainability.

First, we familiarized ourselves with the Paris Climate Agreement and its intersection with the European Green Deal, focusing on the Climate Dialogues, which were hosted by the UNFCCC at the end of 2020, and the relevant EU legislative process, focusing on its EU Climate Law negotiations. We then investigated links between the EU, regional, and national initiatives, selecting and investigating specific policy areas. The following EU experts assisted us:

  • Günter HörmandingerEUC DG for the Environment, Transport, on leave 
  • Georg FischerEUC Director for Social Affairs, DG EMPL, ret. 
  • Andreas Beckmann, Regional CEO, WWF Central and Eastern Europe
  • Stephan Renner, Cabinet Member, Austrian Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology 

Their presentations, discussion sessions, and answers to our follow-up questions improved our understanding of European Green Deal provisions in these policy areas:

  • Biodiversity--Ana Valenzuela
  • Building and Renovation--Chris Piton
  • Circular Economy--Lingfei Liu
  • Clean Energy--Vikram Sudhan Muthuvel 
  • Just Transitions--Reagan Humphrey 
  • Sustainable Mobility--Victoria Heredia-Ferran
Each student drafted, presented for peer-review, revised, and completed a final report with information on the policy goals, actions, funding, strengths/weaknesses, and best practices. Our full report is available here. Below are the best practices we identified in four areas: communication, funding, policy, and technology. We encourage all to share them and push to implement those best suited to ensure we reach the Paris Agreement goal even before 2050!


Communication


      Disseminate information with the invitation to participate actively.

      Commission invitation for public consultation on EU 2030 Climate Ambition

      Citizen deliberation and participation program funding with 1,500 grant applications

      Saturate mainstream and other media innovatively.

      Euronews,EU Member-State RepresentationEU press release Green Deal content

      Euronews Debates: Can the EU Green Deal empower business and consumer change?

      Strive for individual, NGO, and government social media multiplier sharing.

      EU Commission Facebook page with 1.2 million followers

      #EUGreenDeal with almost 6,000 post shares in 24 hours

      Host and nurture invited, as well as invented, public-sphere events.

      European Climate Pact with invitation for citizen action in focal areas

     EU Earth Day 2021with link to 51 Earth Day action suggestions


Each recommendation warrants serious consideration in the EU, United States, for the transatlantic partnership, and globally. While all can be, and many are being, replicated, two warrant special attention. Linking information delivery and invitations for active participation is particularly effective for enhancing stakeholder input and acceptance. Linking invited and invented public-sphere events is well suited to generate global interactive communication capable of tipping the balance in favor of the necessary behavioral change. The recent 350.org Just Recovery Gathering is another excellent example of such global interactive communication. 


Funding


      Pool resources from relevant government budgets

      European Green Deal Investment Plan with EU and national public investment

     Just Transition Mechanism (Just Transition Fund, InvestEU, European Investment Bank)

      Target research/development investment with public-private partnership

      Horizon 2020 European Green Deal Call with €1 billion in grants

     European Partnerships in Climate, Energy and Mobility with draft partnership proposals

      Strive for an intelligent incentive, disincentive mix

      Energy Tax Directive Revision review of current policy and proposal for new ETD

      Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism with carbon pricing for some imported goods

      Support venture capital investment and corporate-driven green endeavors

      Forbes assessment of European Green Deal Investment Plan opportunities

      Nordic Pension Funds renewable energy investment with ambitious growth potential 


Given the relatively small EU budget, just 1% of the total EU economy value, it relies on funding from all relevant internal sources for projects within the scope of the European Green Deal. It also must make use of its investment to trigger member-state, as well as private spending. The European Green Deal Investment Plan and Just Transition Mechanism offer good examples of such methods. We see the Horizon2020 European Green Deal Call emphasis on international partnership, especially in the developing economies of Africa, as another effective tool to accelerate the transition to carbon neutrality. We recommend replicating it globally.


Policy


      Strive for an intelligent top-down, bottom-up, combination of approaches

      EU Commission leadership in national strategy development

      EU Climate Law trilogue negotiation

      Focus on stakeholder participation

      2018 stakeholder consultation on strategy for long-term greenhouse gas reduction

      2020 stakeholder consultation on 2030 Climate Target Plan

      Ensure transparency, coherence, accountability

      Evaluation of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020

      European Green Deal Legislative Train Schedule

      Strive for an intelligent soft and hard compliance measure mix

      Paris Agreement Implementation and Compliance Committee model

     EU Climate Law governance processes for national energy and climate plans


Some of the cited examples reveal room for improvement. For example, while the EU trilogue method lessens the likelihood of roadblocks, it can slow the legislative process and favor compromise. The current situation demands quick and decisive action. Citizen stakeholders must demand both immediately. In addition, when the EU implements its Climate Law, it must employ all compliance tools effectively. Timely, transparent, and public member-state performance disclosures must include praise for compliance and stiff consequences for delinquency. Public awareness of and support for enforcement are essential. In other words, whether in the EU or elsewhere, methods to motivate intensified citizen demands for performance and accountability are more important than ever.


Technology


      Accelerate the transition to solar and wind energy generation

      Powering a Climate-Neutral Economy

      EU Strategy for Energy System Integration

      Accelerate the transition to e-mobility

      EU Sustainable Transport

      Electric Mobility Europe

      Accelerate support for natural carbon removal, support other forms of carbon capture

      EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 with goal to protect 30% of EU land and sea

      Carbon Capture and Geological Storage (CCS) with CCS Directive

      Promote intelligent digitalization to measure and reduce carbon emissions

     Digitalisation for the Benefit of the Environment

     Eco-Innovation and Digitalisation


While technical tools can and must be important climate mitigation components, we wish to emphasize the need for energy conservation that requires only behavioral change. Having noted that, we consider two technical tools well suited to generate tipping points. Recently, major combustion-engine producers, including General Motors and Volkswagen, have pledged to accelerate their transition to electric engine production. The EU plan to accelerate its transition to e-mobility must serve as a catalyst for such plans in the U.S. and globally. We urge the EU and U.S. to establish a joint e-mobility plan with an ambitious goal for 2030 and invite India, China, and others to join them. We also consider regional and global collaboration in protecting the land and sea capable of tipping the balance in carbon reduction. We urge the EU and U.S. to establish a joint Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, challenging each other to surpass the current 30% goal, challenging other nations to join them, and improving our natural carbon sink in the process! 

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