EU Green Deal

Making Europe the first climate-neutral continent in the world by 2050 is the major challenge that the European Commission wants to work on. With this goal in mind, the Commission has proposed a European climate law to turn this political promise into a legal obligation and an incentive for investment.

All sectors of the economy need to play their part, including by investing in environmentally friendly technologies, helping businesses innovate, providing cleaner, cheaper and healthier forms of private and public transport, decarbonizing the energy sector, increasing the energy efficiency of buildings, working with international partners to improve global environmental standards. The Plan will mobilize at least EUR 1 trillion of sustainable investments over the next decade through the EU budget.

The Commission's plans will cost 1000 billion in the Netherlands alone. The EU Green Deal will, of course, also result in a major transfer of power to Brussels, as member states will be obliged to meet the requirements of the Green Deal. The EU's power will grow as a result, and the EU will be able to adopt policies on behalf of the climate that will enable it to take more far-reaching measures that affect everyone. EU legislation takes precedence over national legislation even if there is a conflict between the two.

Even if the Commission's models were correct on climate, the impact on climate would be zero. This is because Europe is quite small in terms of emissions. Many countries such as China, America and Russia do not participate in EU policy.

The plans will cost the member states a huge amount of money, while the impact on the climate is zero. Moreover, it is a matter of great debate whether climate change is man-made and whether man can exert influence to combat climate change.

Written by Monica Yelinyan