Rystad Energy, a private company that studies energy trends, points out that the European Union, which invests about $125 billion in clean energy technologies, will soon fall behind the United States.
Politicians are coloring the Green New Deal.
The leading European People’s Party claims the Green New Deal as its signature achievement, even as it cuts unpopular provisions, such as those on agriculture, with an eye on the ballot box. It sees it as a way to sever Europe’s dependence on Russia. “We turned Putin’s challenge into a major new opportunity,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in January.
The more right-wing European Conservatives and Reform parties view some of the Green New Deal’s policies – such as setting aside land for restoration rather than agriculture – as culture war issues and say they unfairly target farmers. It pledged to review what it called the Green New Deal’s “more problematic objectives” in its election manifesto.
The Green Party’s message to voters is that European companies need a clear signal that they can compete in the green industry of the future. “These elections will determine the future of European climate policy,” Green Party leader Bas Eickhout said by phone. “If we stop now, it will be bad news for European industry.”
Change is “resilient” (so far).
Research group E3G said that more renewable energy has come into use and that by 2030, 70% of the EU’s electricity will come from wind and solar energy. European law puts a price on climate pollution across multiple industries. Although belatedly, European automakers are also turning to electrification.
E3G analyst Pieter de Pous said the Green New Deal “is far stronger and more resilient as a political agenda than many imagined, but it also now faces some powerful political opponents, Especially coming from the far right.
Christopher Schuetze and Matina Stevis-Gridneff contributed reporting.
