EU’s Green Deal likely to become major step forward in global climate change fight

The European Green Deal, unveiled by the European Commission on Wednesday to make the bloc carbon neutral by 2050, would likely mark a qualitative leap in the global fight against climate change if it’s fully implemented, according to Italian experts.

Described by the new president of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, as “our new growth strategy — a strategy that gives more back than it takes away” — the plan set ambitious targets.

The first requires the EU to cut greenhouse gas emissions by “at least 50 percent and towards 55 percent by 2030” compared to 1990 levels, instead of the current target of 40 percent.

The second and ultimate goal is to “transform the EU into a fair and prosperous society … where there are no net emissions of greenhouse gases in 2050.”

To achieve such targets, the European Commission said it will propose “the first European Climate Law by March 2020” to enshrine the 2050 climate neutrality target in its legislation.

To sustain the passage to a zero-emission circular economy, the EU will set up a Just Transition Mechanism with an overall investment of 100 billion euros (111 billion U.S. dollars).

As EU leaders gathered in Brussels on Thursday discussing the Green Deal, Italian experts overall praised the initiative.

“It undoubtedly marks a qualitative leap forward in the EU Commission’s strategy, which has partially resulted from the pressure coming from the younger generations,” Gianni Silvestrini, scientific director of non-profit organization Kyoto Club, told Xinhua.

In this perspective, Silvestrini — a former energy researcher with the Italian National Research Council (CNR) and the University of Palermo — believes the targets for 2030 and 2050 would be a key change factor for the whole European economy.

“The Deal provides a series of relevant inputs in various sectors, concerning for example the taxation necessary to achieve the carbon neutral goal or the boost to the electric car market,” he explained.

Indeed, the Green Deal provides a comprehensive transition roadmap for the European economy, outlining a wide list of key policies and measures.

Antonio Brunori, Arboriculture Ph.D. with the University of Perugia and secretary-general of the Italian branch of the Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), agrees.

“It can represent a qualitative leap, because it does not only say that Europe needs the transition towards a circular economy in a responsible way but already suggests the required implementing measures,” he noted.

The expert said people in the forestry environmental sector had been “wondering for quite long how courageous the new EU Commission would be on this issue.”
“It is now promising to see it has addressed some aspects of the climate change adaptation problem more directly, and for example regarding the EU’s role in global deforestation,” Brunori said.