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“If there is one area where the world needs our leadership, it is on climate protection,” then-European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told MEPs after the 2019 European Parliament elections. “The world is ours to lead, and the faster Europe acts, the more it will benefit our citizens, our competitiveness and our prosperity.”
Five years later, von der Leyen’s statement remains true, and the urgency for decisive action has become even more pressing. Last week, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that the world was facing a “climate crisis,” referring to new data showing that global temperatures had exceeded the critical threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius over the past year. But Europe’s climate action policies are moving in the wrong direction at an alarming rate.
Commentary on European opinion polls conducted over the weekend focused on the rise of the far right, most notably in France. But it was also a tough night for the Greens, whose share of the vote fell by more than a quarter. The French Greens barely broke through the 5% threshold needed to send members to the European Parliament in Strasbourg. In Germany, where the Greens are part of a coalition government, their electoral votes fell by nearly half to 12%. Together, the two parties could sound the alarm for the European Green Deal, which is about to enter its most challenging and politically sensitive phase.
The new European Commission, likely to be led again by von der Leyen, will be tasked with setting a path to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2040. This will include transformations in areas such as housing and transport, and directly affect daily life. The recent wave of farmers’ protests is still fresh in our minds, but the danger remains that measures that have already been relaxed will be further relaxed due to fears of a popular backlash.
Far-right leaders will continue to use their growing influence to foment this right-wing revolution.
Progressive change is necessary if the future of the European Green Deal is to be guaranteed, while dealing with huge competitive challenges, such as supporting Ukraine against Russia, is draining Brussels of its potential. While action to mitigate the climate emergency remains a priority for voters across the continent, economic insecurity is at the forefront. Against this backdrop of concerns, a false opposition between pro-environment and pro-growth policies has begun to take hold.
These dilemmas will not be overcome through politics, as is the norm in Brussels. The combined influence of progressive forces in the new European Parliament remains enormous. It should be used to change the terms of engagement with the far right and its allies.
A large European budget, combined with joint borrowing to finance game-changing investments, would make the Green New Deal a clear catalyst for economic growth. It would also provide the necessary levels of support for households and small businesses to cope with the coming changes. The alternative is for Europe to shirk its global responsibilities while paying lip service to targets associated with zero carbon emissions levels. As Guterres says, the moment of “climate crisis” has arrived.
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