European Union's Green Deal debate overshadowed by war amid EU elections
Europe plans to become carbon neutral by 2050
Despite the turbulences in the latest term, the ambitions of the European Union in regard to climate change have not changed.
The European Union is on its way to becoming greener than ever, with more than double the amount of solar energy being produced since 2019 and more electricity coming from renewable sources instead of gas for the first time in 2022.
About 46% of the EU's electricity now comes from renewables, such as windmills.
In 2021 the European Parliament and Council decided that by 2050 Europe should be the first continent that produces as much carbon dioxide emission as it absorbs, meaning it will become carbon neutral. By 2030, carbon dioxide emission should be lowered by 55% according to the European Green Deal, signed in 2019.
European Green Deal debate
The European Green Deal came into force five years ago, under very different circumstances in comparison to the world now.
In 2019, the issue was approached from an environmental standpoint, in a context with youth activism, represented by figures such as Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg.
In 2024, the environmental debate has turned towards issues linked with security, energy and autonomy.
"Climate change remains severe, sometimes it's even worse, but there are other threats that are more visible such as the war in Ukraine, the conflict between Israel and Palestine or the trade war between the United States and China," the general director and vice-president of Think Tank Europe Jacques Delors, Geneviève Pons, told Catalan News Agency (ACN).
According to Pons, the European Green Deal is "at risk" because of geopolitical instability in recent years. She underlines the importance of "maintaining the focus" on climate and environmental policies and "reducing gaps" in fields such as agriculture.
"In this legislature, almost 80% of what was proposed in the European Green Deal has been implemented, it is a real success, but more needs to be done," Pons added.
Russian fossil fuel imports
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the European Commission started looking for ways to phase out Russian fossil fuel imports. Their answer is REPowerEU, a package of more than €200 million that will be invested before 2027, to become independent from Russian fuels and to speed up the transition to a greener Europe.
REPowerEU was launched in May 2022 and since then the share of EU gas imports coming from Russia has been reduced in 30 percentage points, from 45% in 2021 to 15% in 2023.
Another result of REPowerEU is a system that allows the European Commission to buy gas together, so European countries are not competing and bidding against each other for scarce supplies.
Political parties' opinions
The party that is against the European Green Deal the most, is far-right Vox, arguing that it harms "the countryside and Spain's energy sovereignty."
The Conservative People's Party does agree with the measures from the pact but also defends a reduction of the ecological requirements in agricultural policies.
The Socialists say it's worth having "fair transition measures" and promoting new penalties for non-compliance with the Green Deal.
Meanwhile left-wing Sumar is willing to bet on more ambitious targets for the reduction of carbon-emissions.
Pro-independence Junts+ supports a Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) that aligns with the European Green Deal, which also supports small farmers.
Climate measures should have a "more social" nature and climate neutrality should be reached in 2040 instead of 2050, according to pro-independence Esquerra Republicana.
Liberal Cuidadanos want a "sustainable" Europe and advocate for "independence on energy that guarantees security of supply.