Tag Archives: Ursula von der Leyen

Climate Solutions

European Union Announces $1 Trillion Investment Plan to Support Green Deal through 2030

Photo / Adobe Stock

Laudable Climate Goals, if Met or Exceeded…

On December 11th 2019, the European Union announced its plans for a Green Deal. Proposed by EU President Ursula von der Leyen, the Green Deal daringly aims to make Europe the first carbon neutral continent by 2050, with a number of incremental goals along the way. The plan involves reducing fossil fuel reliance, transitioning to renewable energy, and promoting more sustainable infrastructures. Naturally, though, the first step is figuring out how much the plan will cost, and where the financing will come from.

Earlier in January, the EU finally crunched the numbers and reported that the Green Deal will cost a quarter of the bloc’s budget for its first ten years. On top of that, in order to keep the plan on track for 2050, the EU will also have to shift 1 trillion Euros ($1.1 trillion) in investments towards a more environmentally friendly European economy by 2030.

The European Commission claims that half of the investments will come directly from the EU’s budget, and that the other half will come from a mix of public and private funds. 100 billion Euros are expected to come from member states’ federal governments, and another 300 billion will hopefully come from the private sector.

These figures are hefty, and some leaders and businesspeople remain skeptical of the plan. Even Jonah Van Overtveld, head of the EU Budget Committee, expressed his doubts about the Green Deal’s fundraising tactics.

Rather than dodge the financial disbelief, though, the EU has addressed it head on, actively making efforts to frame the Green Deal as an economic boost for the countries involved and creating incentives for investing in a sustainable Europe.

This plan focused on stimulation principally requires frequent opportunities to invest in clean energy. Regional EU programs such as InvestEU and the European Investment Bank will be leading these opportunities, using the Commission’s budget guarantee to mobilize financial support.

Support for Lagging Economies Built into the Deal

Still, the Green Deal’s harshest critics remain the pac’s countries that rely heavily on fossil fuels. Poland, for example, refuses to comply with the plan due to its ongoing dependence on coal. The country produces 80% of its electricity from coal and would suffer disproportionately if expected to cut coal from its energy economy.

Once again, however, the EU has not ignored the plights of countries like Poland and has proposed a 100 billion Euro “Just Transition Fund” to financially help the nations hit hardest by giving up fossil fuels. The Fund will not just support those countries through the transition, but it will also help their laborers remain afloat after the reformation.

Part of the Green Deal’s economic incentive features a large number of jobs created for the clean energy economy. The Just Transition Fund would help former employees of fossil fuel companies become versed in new eco-friendly trades. Turning Europe into a continent dependent on renewable energy will require a new, learned workforce as well as lots of laborious construction. Optimistically, this will more than cover the jobs lost by minimizing the fossil fuel industry.

European lawmakers will vote on the proposed finance plan on Wednesday, January 22, and van der Leyen wants to have the Green Deal put into legislation by March. There is still more support to be wrangled up for the Deal, but its supporters are evidently looking at the task pragmatically. Although becoming carbon neutral by 2050 is ambitious, it is also expensive, so the EU is counting the Euros carefully and strategically. That being said, when it comes to the climate crisis, time is of the essence. Ambition is not an option, but a necessity.

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Climate Solutions

The European Union Sets Its Own Eco Standards With Green Deal

Euro Attempts to Lead in Climate Fight

While leaders from around the globe were coming together to seek climate consensus at the UN Climate Conference in Madrid, the European Union is making its own efforts in Belgium. On Tuesday, December 11th, the EU met in Brussels and introduced what it is calling the “Green Deal,” an outline of policies for the bloc to implement in the fight against climate change. 

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented the Green Deal at the EU meeting. It is her first major proposal (and a bold one at that) since she first took office on December 1st. The plan is part of an overarching ambition for the EU to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.

The Green Deal aims to achieve this ambition through fifty policy measures. Among them are a $110-Billion fund to help transition away from coal, updated production standards to eliminate waste, and a carbon border tax for imports. There would also be more money set aside to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and decrease the level of trade dependency on air travel. 

When von der Leyen introduced the Deal, she called it “Europe’s ‘man on the moon’ moment,” likely alluding to United States President John F. Kennedy’s famous “We Choose To Go To The Moon Speech” that kicked off the Space Race in 1962. Like Kennedy’s declaration to put a man on the moon, the Green Deal is unprecedentedly daring. It consciously sets out to challenge the nations involved and bring out the best in their politicians and citizens alike. If all goes well, then the end result could be beyond anything mankind has achieved in the past.

The irony in von der Leyen referencing JFK in her remarks, however, is that part of the Green Deal states that the EU will no longer engage in trade agreements with nations not participating in the Paris Climate Accords—that means to United States. Thanks to President Trump’s recent withdrawal from the global agreements set upon during the Obama Administration, the Green Deal could leave the U.S. without a few vital trading partners in Europe.

Man on The Moon is an Understatement: Resistance is a Factor

With any luck, maybe this economic incentive will convince the United States to hop back on board the Paris Accord. After all, one of the Green Deal’s primary aims is to inspire other places around the world to politically prioritize the climate crisis and lower carbon emissions. While certain governments have already made progress in these areas, the Green Deal marks the first time that a multi-nation bloc this big is directly attacking the issue on such a wide, in depth scale.

That being said, not everyone is a fan of the Deal. Although it won the support of the conservative European People’s Party (the most prevalent party in Parliament), the Green Deal has its cynics on both sides of the political spectrum. The far-right wingers fear the Deal’s potential effect on extractive industries and the economy. Meanwhile, far-left parties like the Green Party and the European United Left, are weary that the plan is not enough and that it needs to offer more solutions to additional issues. 

Still, all but three of the 28 countries in the EU have agreed to the Green Deal’s 2050 carbon neutral goal. The outliers are Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary, three Eastern European nations that rely heavily on coal and other fossil fuels. 

Understandably, the Green Deal will not get adopted and accepted overnight. There are a lot of countries that have a say in its guidelines and not all of them see eye-to-eye. Nevertheless, the fact that an entity as large and influential as the EU is proposing such a plan—and that it is getting received relatively well—is a big step for environmental progress. Soon enough, maybe the rest of the world will fall in line too, realize the dangers at hand, and compromise for the betterment of the entire planet. 

Find books on Big Tech, Sustainable Energy, Economics and many other topics at our sister site: Cherrybooks on Bookshop.org

Climate Solutions

The European Union Sets Its Own Eco Standards With Green Deal In Midst Of Madrid’s UN Climate Conference

Collage / Lynxotic

Green Deal is the Real Deal? Probably Not

While leaders from around the globe are coming together to seek climate consensus at the UN Climate Conference in Madrid, the European Union is making its own efforts in Belgium. On Tuesday, December 11th, the EU met in Brussels and introduced what it is calling the “Green Deal,” an outline of policies for the bloc to implement in the fight against climate change.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented the Green Deal at the EU meeting. It is her first major proposal (and a bold one at that) since she first took office on December 1st. The plan is part of an overarching ambition for the EU to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.

The Green Deal aims to achieve this ambition through fifty policy measures. Among them are a $110-Billion fund to help transition away from coal, updated production standards to eliminate waste, and a carbon border tax for imports. There would also be more money set aside to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and decrease the level of trade dependency on air travel.

When von der Leyen introduced the Deal, she called it “Europe’s ‘man on the moon’ moment,” likely alluding to United States President John F. Kennedy’s famous “We Choose To Go To The Moon Speech” that kicked off the Space Race in 1962. Like Kennedy’s declaration to put a man on the moon, the Green Deal is unprecedentedly daring. It consciously sets out to challenge the nations involved and bring out the best in their politicians and citizens alike. If all goes well, then the end result could be beyond anything mankind has achieved in the past.

Potential Huge Impact of New Front in Trade Wars?

The irony in von der Leyen referencing JFK in her remarks, however, is that part of the Green Deal states that the EU will no longer engage in trade agreements with nations not participating in the Paris Climate Accords—that means to United States. Thanks to President Trump’s recent withdrawal from the global agreements set upon during the Obama Administration, the Green Deal could leave the U.S. without a few vital trading partners in Europe.

With any luck, maybe this economic incentive will convince the United States to hop back on board the Paris Accord. After all, one of the Green Deal’s primary aims is to inspire other places around the world to politically prioritize the climate crisis and lower carbon emissions. While certain governments have already made progress in these areas, the Green Deal marks the first time that a multi-nation bloc this big is directly attacking the issue on such a wide, in depth scale.

That being said, not everyone is a fan of the Deal. Although it won the support of the conservative European People’s Party (the most prevalent party in Parliament), the Green Deal has its cynics on both sides of the political spectrum. The far-right wingers fear the Deal’s potential effect on extractive industries and the economy. Meanwhile, far-left parties like the Green Party and the European United Left, are weary that the plan is not enough and that it needs to offer more solutions to additional issues.

Still, all but three of the 28 countries in the EU have agreed to the Green Deal’s 2050 carbon neutral goal. The outliers are Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary, three Eastern European nations that rely heavily on coal and other fossil fuels.

Understandably, the Green Deal will not get adopted and accepted overnight. There are a lot of countries that have a say in its guidelines and not all of them see eye-to-eye. Nevertheless, the fact that an entity as large and influential as the EU is proposing such a plan—and that it is getting received relatively well—is a big step for environmental progress. Soon enough, maybe the rest of the world will fall in line too, realize the dangers at hand, and compromise for the betterment of the entire planet.

Find books on Big Tech, Sustainable Energy, Economics and many other topics at our sister site: Cherrybooks on Bookshop.org