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 Hörmandinger, EUC DG for the Environment, Transport, on leave
- Georg Fischer, EUC 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
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 Representation, EU 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
● 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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