Archive
Year: 2023
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The challenges for the EU’s Green Industrial Policy
May 10, 2023
In the past three years since the inception of the EU Green Deal, the road to decarbonisation has become increasingly complex. The Russian invasion of Ukraine, the energy crisis as well as the cost-of-living crisis, have made ambitious climate regulation more challenging for national industries. In response, the European Commission drafted its Green Deal Industrial Plan meant to support the industrial transition. However, three challenges might threaten this plan: political, financial, and social fragmentation. Political...
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Setting 2040 climate targets: technical adjustment or transformational agenda?
May 8, 2023
The EU is preparing to define its new 2040 climate goals, in an attempt to bridge the existing Commission’s Green Deal plan under the von der Leyen Presidency with the new leadership to be elected mid-2024. A public consultation for all stakeholders is open here. This 2040 exercise could lead to a couple of contrasting scenarios. Scenario 1 entails a purely technical re-modelling exercise on how to reach a lineal 2040 GHG reduction target –...
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Sound climate policy involves preparing us for life on a hotter planet
April 17, 2023
The EU needs to take adaptation much more seriously in its upcoming climate plans. The EU’s consultations on its 2040 climate target have started. The EU could be aiming for a reduction in CO2 emissions of up to 90%. That would entail a wholesale economic transformation beyond anything we have seen so far. This effort is commendable. If we want to achieve net-zero emissions by mid-century and bridge the gap with the 2030 target, a...