The Green Deal has set a new blueprint for a European green and digital transition aiming for climate neutrality in 2050. Embracing the 2030 Agenda, the Paris Agreement, and delivering on the Political Guidelines of the European Commission, the Green Deal is the new EU growth strategy, putting sustainable development at its heart.
But how exactly is the Green Deal, with its strong emphasis on providing green growth and digital transition, providing for more sustainable policies? Does it take into account all the aspects that a sound strategy for sustainable development should consider? In other words, is the Green Deal green? For a policy to be fully sustainable, we emphasise two necessary elements: 1. The impact on future generations. 2. Thinking an economic model which conceptualizes the finiteness of natural resources.
Where are the future generations in the Green Deal?
Every sound approach to sustainable development must defend the right of every human being to a decent life (M. Christen, S, Schmidt 2011). It is important, then, to consider the parameters within which ‘human being’ is defined. To support the premise that each and every human being must have sufficient access to material goods, without compromising the political and social rights of the people, the Green Deal must not be constrained to the livelihoods of today’s people, but also encompass those of tomorrow.
From this perspective, to be characterised as ‘‘green”, the Green Deal should take into account the well-being of future generations. Does the Green Deal include future generations? How does it improve the well-being of all humankind without undermining the quality of life for future generations later on?
The Green Deal aims to improve the quality of life and nature, guaranteeing resource needs for the present while taking into account the next generations of Europeans (The European Green Deal, 2019). As the Commission President puts it : “the European Green Deal is something I’m convinced we owe to our children, because we do not own this planet, we just do have, for a certain time, the responsibility, and now it’s time to act” (Ibid.). For preserving future generations, a great emphasis is put on the citizens’ active participation in the green transition. It ensures that all generations engage in this collective effort.
A Green Growth for a Green Deal?
To be green, the Green Deal must not only address the issue of future generations, but also that of the finiteness of natural resources leading to a necessary rethinking of our economic model based on infinite growth and production. Does the Green Deal do this?
Although the approach taken to sustainability is promising and the ambitions of the Green Deal are high, the proposed policies remain, for the time being, too weak to achieve the protection of our finite natural resources. Indeed, the European Green Deal outlined insufficient targets (such as the EU GHG reduction of at least 55% by 2030) to meet the scientifically-requested recommendations to limit global warming to 1,5°C.
Moreover, the European Green Deal is being marketed as Europe’s new growth strategy and therefore does not affect our current economic model encouraging increased production and consumption. However, this approach is highly controversial: numerous reports warn policy makers about the incompatibility between economic models based on infinite growth and the limited resources of the planet (Serge Latouche 2010). The Commission's own agency, the European Environment Agency (EEA) is advising against the pursuit of this economic model. For the Green Deal to be truly green, our economic model, based on growth and given the negative constraints it puts on nature, must be completely rethought. Among those alternative economic models, one could think of the Doughnut theory, by Kate Raworth. Designed to achieve prosperity for all human beings while acknowledging the earth’s limited resources, the Doughnut identifies twelve social boundaries below which the minimum conditions for ensuring everyone’s right to a decent life are not met and an ecological ceiling made of nine planetary boundaries that must not be exceeded. In the end, this model wants to render the economic vision of growth obsolete, in order to replace it with a model in which humanity can thrive.
Despite these limitations questioning the green aspect of the Green Deal, it must be underlined that the European Green Deal is still in construction and a lot will also depend on its effective implementation. For example, the call to end fossil fuel subsidies has been repeated in the Green Deal, ten years after a first commitment that was not followed by any plans. It must be noted that a policy declaration means nothing without a meaningful implementation and to this regard, the European Green Deal must not fail to deliver on its declarations.
Policy Recommendations
The analysis of the European Green Deal reveals that even if it has the potential to result in a green-enough sustainable development strategy, the Green Deal is not easy to implement within the current growth model. In order to be fully sustainable, the European Green Deal should be accompanied by a paradigm change. Driven by the notion of the finiteness of natural resources, green and social sustainability should prevail over economic sustainability when choices have to be made.
In addition, regarding the place of future generations and the protection of the environment, the level of ambition contained in the Communication needs to be upheld in legislation, following up on the concrete steps taken by the European Parliament for the adoption of increased emissions reduction targets for 2030. We urge the Institutions and the Member States to avoid disregarding a generation for the benefit of another, because in this case sustainable development would only be partially achieved. Long-term political support and ownership of the goals and measures at all levels of the EU multilevel governance chain is paramount. Room for maneuver should therefore be left to key stakeholders to adjust implementation to local needs. That would give all citizens, especially young people, the opportunity to make their voices heard.
Co-written with Davide Grison, Charis Hoffman, Staffan Åkesson, Laetitia Aumont
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