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he EU has been a driving force in the fight against environment risks: global warming, water and air pollution, environmental degradation and the depletion of natural resources. It has some of the world’s highest environmental standards, protecting nature and people’s quality of life, greening the economy, and achieving careful and considerate use of natural resources. However, despite significant progress in recent decades and ambitious policies on the climate and circular economy, many trends are still going in the wrong direction. Problems like dramatic biodiversity loss, the unsustainable use of resources and rapid climate change are more of a threat than ever before. Confronted with these challenges, Europeans are calling for urgent action to be taken. Some 95% think that protecting the environment is a priority, and 72% are calling for more action at EU level on environmental policy. The message from Europe’s voters, and those too young to vote, is loud and clear: they want action to address the climate emergency and want Europe to lead the way. In record time – after only 11 days in office – the von der Leyen Commission adopted a Communication that was radically new. The European Green Deal aims to deliver a different kind of growth. For the first time in Europe’s history, the number one priority will be competitive sustainability for the future. EU leaders immediately welcomed the plan, endorsing it at a European summit. Such swift recognition is a reflection of a simple truth. All around the EU, there is a growing realisation that it is time for a different approach. The Green Deal is Europe’s answer not just to these climate and environmental challenges, but also to the social challenges they bring. It is a strategy with justice and equality at its heart, pulling together all sectors of the EU economy, with people, prosperity and the p lanet to the fore.
Whilst a long-term project, some of it will be put in place next year. We can look forward to a proposal for a just transition mechanism, a sustainable Europe investment plan, a proposal for a European climate law, and the Farm to Fork strategy, all in the space of the next 12 months. Three further elements will be particularly important for the environment portfolio. The new Circular Economy Action Plan should arrive in the first quarter of 2020, accompanying the EU industrial strategy. The plan will bring circularity to the mainstream, with the focus on construction, textiles, electronics and plastics. The aim is to transform these resource-intensive sectors into truly circular systems. Going circular is not just about recycling – it is about using design to avoid waste and emissions before they actually happen. The new action plan therefore underlines the importance of good design, promoting sustainability and durability. It will also give consumers more power by ensuring that they have reliable information on products and services before they buy. The new EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 will follow shortly after, outlining the EU’s position for the 2020 UN Convention on Biological Diversity (cop 15) in Kunming, China, in October. The EU will be aiming to protect, restore and mainstream biodiversity, while presenting global targets to protect biodiversity as well as commitments to address the main causes of biodiversity loss in the EU, underpinned by measurable objectives. The third part of the Green Deal involves moving towards the zero-pollution goal of a toxic-free environment. This should provide a set of measures to prevent and address pollution, obliging policymakers to live up to a central objective at the heart of the deal – Do No Harm. As a Commission, our ambitions have never been higher. But we cannot deliver this agenda on our own. This deal aims to bring substantial change, and delivering on it requires extensive buy-in from interest groups, governments and citizens from across the EU. Our President has spoken of a new deal that brings together Europeans in all their diversity, with national,
Pict ures Istoc k.c om/edge 69, i sto ck. com/Lu ckyStep48, i sto ck. com/Din a Maria ni , istock .co m/Enis Aksoy, EU-Commission
The European Green Deal