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Writer's pictureEngineering Pivot
Aug 14, 20244 min read

Balancing Europe's Green Future: The European Green deal

By Cailin Rugema




Introduction


2020 was a period of disaster that brought everyone apart in some ways, while giving people endless opportunities with the new time they found on their hands. People became more in touch with events and ideas on a worldwide scale. Everyone learned about protests, social campaigns, world debate issues, stock market trading, and social media's growing influence. Now that this period is over, it may all feel like one big blur, but many significant events occurred. One major event was the European Green Deal, which started in December 2019 and was later approved in 2020. Today, I will discuss what this Green Deal was and the opportunities it entailed. Then, I will explain both sides of the debate and detail why I believe this motion was positive for Europe given the circumstances.


The European Green Deal


The European Green Deal represents the bold and ambitious intent of the European Union to address the ongoing crisis of climate change and hopefully transform it into being more of a sustainable economy. According to the EU themselves, their core initiative is to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, by reducing greenhouse emissions, improving clean technologies and improving sustainable economic growth. However, with this agreement comes opposition who come to question its feasibility and achievability by the proposed year of 2050.


The issue of climate change should not be taken lightly especially because of the level it has gotten to, according to scientific evidence the main areas that encourage climate change to grow are the overhaul of deforestation, combustion of non-renewable fuels, pollution and decomposition of species. In relation to all of this, Europe has been recognized as the fastest warming continent out of all seven which raises more concern about the rapidly increasing sea levels, temperatures and increased likelihood of drought occurring. Furthermore, with all these concerns raised the European Union proposed and instituted the European Green Deal which is not solely about environmental stewardship but also social equity and economic reformation.


The Opposition


Critics, however, argue that the feasibility and achievability of the project to be completed by 2050 are all too eager. Many who feel uneasy about the European Green Deal, argue it may cause a strain economically leaving many burdens, particularly towards industries which already face immense competition between each other. The transition to more renewable energies may pose a social impact whereby a large number of people will suffer job losses in traditional industries, such as coal mining and oil refining. In correlation, the green policies could be passed on to consumers in the form of high energy prices, which will disproportionately affect low-income households more.


In addition, the transition of multiple industries from fossil fuels to renewable energies may cause energy security concerns. While this transition is essential to reducing carbon emissions, dependency on energy sources like solar may cause energy shortages in certain areas more than others, as well as the reliability of sources like solar and wind which may require dependency on non-EU imports, in turn, posing a potential impact on trade relations between EU countries and possibly lead to political and economical unrest.


Counterargument


Despite these challenges, abandoning the European Green Deal would entail more unrest and missed opportunity. Climate change poses an unprecedented threat towards global stability and worldly development. The actions of the European Green Deal are coordinated to prevent catastrophic events of climate change from occurring.


To supplement, the transition to green industries would benefit and offer significant job opportunities. Investing in the growth of green industries can stimulate the creation of jobs and enhance the energy security for multiple regions in Europe; Not only will it enhance job opportunities but the long-term effect of the European Green Deal is to reduce carbon emissions, which in turn reduces the chances of illnesses related to air pollution and its healthcare costs.


Furthermore, the Green Deal’s emphasis on renewable energies can enhance the European Union’s energy independence. By developing domestic green energies, the European Union can reduce its dependence on fossil fuel imports. This shift can enhance the stability and predictability of the energy supply, which will strengthen their domestic trade relations. By prioritising environmental protection and social justice, the European Union can strengthen its legitimacy regarding the Green Deal.


What Happened After it got Signed?


To set an illustration, after the European Green Deal was initiated in 2020, it proved to be incredibly resilient especially because of the COVID-19 virus outbreak that followed only four months after it was approved, and even after the virus subsided, the conflicts between Russia and Ukraine also made the deal difficult to further carry on. Thankfully, according to the IEEP, 69% of their sustainability experts from across Europe believe the Green Deal will have a positive external impact, with even half of the experts going on to say the deal will achieve the set target of climate neutrality by 2050.


Conclusion


To conclude, Climate change has proved over the past few decades to be an increasing concern for anyone situated on Earth, and it doesn’t look to be improving in the next few years either. Without any action being taken, we can expect the carbon dioxide level to double by 2030 and Europe’s temperature to increase by 2–3 °C in the summer. The European Green Deal can be said to be an attempt at improving the growing European climate crisis, with still many concerns being raised, but abandoning it would just leave the inevitable result of climate change from happening.


Works Cited


  • “European Green Deal Barometer 2024.” IEEP AISBL, 22 May 2024,




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