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COVID-19 and the European recovery: Transition to a green normal or return to the old normal?
16 July 2020Britta Daum
Under the European Green Deal presented in December 2019, the
European Union is seeking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs)
by 50-55% by 2030 over 1990 levels by targeting a wide range of
policy areas, ranging from clean energy to biodiversity.1 The
ultimate aim is to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 and
leadership in international climate policy; to enshrine these
targets, the Commission proposed the EU Climate Law in March
2020\
Given that the road, rail, aviation, and maritime segments
account for more than 25% of the bloc's total emissions, this
represents both new opportunities and new challenges for the
transport sector.1 All the more so as there are significant
discrepancies or differences across the European Union with regard
to implementation of EU transport policies, and also in view of the
current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis.
Key implications
The European Commission presented the European Green Deal in
December 2019, followed by the European Union's first-ever climate
law in March 2020.2 In this context, the coronavirus disease 2019
(COVID-19) crisis represents both a threat and an opportunity for
the energy transition; but no matter what the outcome, it is
without a doubt an important test case for European climate
policies.
The current situation may jeopardize years of climate
negotiations, or it may provide a window of opportunity for
policymakers to pave the way to a sustainable economic recovery. So
far, old patterns and alliances have been confirmed—those
countries that were already supporters of green climate action
prior to the crisis are pushing for a greener recovery, while those
that are pushing back against green recovery were already climate
skeptics.
Moreover, the pandemic also reinforced existing trends; i.e.,
it accelerated climate action in climate-conscious countries and
slowed down climate action in less climate-conscious countries.
However, dynamics may evolve, and those countries that seem to lag
behind today may drive change tomorrow, depending on their
individual economic recovery and societal change.
At the civil society level, it comes down to one question: will
societies take this crisis as an opportunity to loosen regulatory
mandates, or will they pressure governments and the European Union
to accelerate the transition toward sustainable mobility and clean
energy?
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