{"id":100773,"date":"2019-12-11T14:40:45","date_gmt":"2019-12-11T13:40:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/?p=100773"},"modified":"2020-07-06T15:19:36","modified_gmt":"2020-07-06T13:19:36","slug":"next-12-months-crucial-as-green-deal-commits-eu-to-deeply-transformative-policies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/fr\/next-12-months-crucial-as-green-deal-commits-eu-to-deeply-transformative-policies\/","title":{"rendered":"Next 12 months crucial as Green Deal commits EU to \u201cdeeply transformative policies\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

The European Commission has responded to calls for climate and environmental action by publishing plans for a European Green Deal<\/a> including the promise of<\/span> \u201cdeeply<\/span> transformative policies\u201d in its first major communication just 10 days after taking office.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n
Jeremy Wates, Secretary General of <\/span>t<\/span>he European Environmental Bureau<\/span> (EEB)<\/span><\/strong> – Europe\u2019s largest network of environmental citizens\u2019 groups<\/span> – <\/span>said:<\/span><\/div>\n
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“This is a significant moment both for the environment and <\/span>for <\/span>the EU as Ursula von der Leyen has rightly chosen to make the European Green Deal her Commission\u2019s defining policy. While the <\/span>Green Deal <\/span>clearly falls short of adequately addressing <\/span>the challenges posed by the existential crises of climate change<\/span>, <\/span>biodiversity loss and <\/span>toxic <\/span>pollution<\/span>, <\/span>it <\/span>does promise<\/span> \u2018deeply<\/span> transformative policies\u2019 in the future<\/span> and is an important first step by the new Commission, even if t<\/span>h<\/span>e <\/span>hard <\/span>w<\/span>ork of shaping and delivering those policies is still to come.”<\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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The Green Deal proposal follows an EU election in May where climate and environment were key issues. Young people have led demands for <\/span>governments<\/span> to respond to scientific warnings about climate breakdown and biodiversity loss with serious action to cut emissions and reduce inequality.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Patri<\/span>ck ten Brink<\/span>, <\/span>the <\/span><\/strong>EEB\u2019s EU Policy Director<\/strong> said<\/span>:<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cThe European Green Deal includes important commitments to a toxic-free environment, to end harmful subsidies and loopholes, and to design the genuinely transformative policies we will need to deliver for future generations. The next 12 months will be crucial as new laws, policies and budgets are developed to deliver the Green Deal.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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Patrizia Heidegger, <\/span>the <\/span><\/strong>EEB\u2019s Global Policy Director<\/strong> said:\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201c<\/span>What we need is a strategy to break free from ever-increasing consumption and economic expansion and to establish a society in which we live well within the planet\u2019s limits<\/span>, so it\u2019s disappointing to see the Green Deal referred to as a<\/span> \u2018growth<\/span> strategy\u2019 on its opening page. <\/span>There is no <\/span>empirical evidence to support the idea <\/span>that <\/span>decoupling economic growth from environmental pressures <\/span>is possible <\/span>on anywhere near the scale needed to deal with environmental breakdown<\/span>.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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The <\/span>EEA\u2019s <\/span>recent <\/span>State of the European Environment <\/span>report <\/span><\/a>stated that Europe faces environmental challenges of unprecedented scale and urgency which <\/span>the EU will <\/span>fail to <\/span>tackle <\/span>if it <\/span>c<\/span>ontinu<\/span>es<\/span> to promote economic growt<\/span>h<\/span> while <\/span>trying to<\/span> \u2018<\/span>manage<\/span>\u2019<\/span> the environmental and social impacts<\/span>.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Wates<\/strong> concluded:\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201c<\/span>Today\u2019s Green Deal is far from a perfect document but <\/span>for the most part <\/span>provides a <\/span>good <\/span>starting point for further work.<\/span> As regards its ultimate success, much will depend on the content of the more specific strategies that are foreseen to come out in the coming months<\/span>.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
ENDS<\/strong><\/div>\n
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Notes and further reading:<\/div>\n