For a climate neutral economy ‘made in Europe’: Working together to re-launch Europe, now!
Before the EU Council Summit on October 15-16, Foundation 2° publishes a position paper on the upcoming important milestones of EU climate policy. The paper was developed on the basis of a dialogue with well-known German companies from numerous important sectors.
The European Union is facing the historic task of leading the economy out of an unprecedented crisis and at the same time setting the course for a climate-neutral economy made-in Europe. The EU Green Deal presented by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen must therefore become Europe’s innovation and growth strategy. It must be made more concrete and backed up with political instruments. For this, the position paper contains concrete proposals.
Among those involved in the dialogue were German companies from the steel industry, chemical industry, cement industry, energy industry, plant engineering and construction, the financial sector as well as companies from the building and mobility sectors.
Large parts of the economy want to use the upswing phase after the Corona crisis to make their contribution to meeting the Paris climate targets and to a powerful EU Green Deal. The prerequisite for this, however, is that political instruments will be created and implemented very quickly to enable companies to initiate the necessary transformation processes and remain internationally competitive. This is of central importance in order to combine ambitious climate protection goals and economic recovery. The increase in the climate target to at least 55% until 2030 proposed by the EU Commission is therefore recognized as expedient from a European perspective on climate policy and supported, provided that the condition is met that it is linked directly or in the very short term (no later than in the next three years) to the adoption and implementation of the necessary policy instruments.
“Large parts of the economy want to use the Green Deal as a driver for innovation and growth,” says Sabine Nallinger, Managing Director of Foundation 2°. “But they urgently need a political framework now so that climate-friendly investments pay off. Together we can make Europe the first climate-neutral continent. To this end, we make constructive proposals”.
The paper calls for a strong EU climate protection law to be passed under the German Council Presidency. CO2 pricing should be further developed at EU level as a key climate policy instrument and introduced in the buildings and transport sectors. The EU Commission’s target of a 30% climate quota for the next EU budget and the investment plan for the Green Deal must be bindingly adhered to. Lead markets for low-carbon products are to be created with a mix of incentives and regulatory measures. The paper makes proposals on how future climate policy fields and key technologies can be promoted in a targeted manner, for example through a European flagship project to establish a hydrogen economy, a European coordinated expansion of renewable energies, and effective investment incentives to double the renovation rate of existing buildings
https://www.stiftung2grad.de/en/eu-green-deal-position-paper