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The Guardian view on Europe’s green deal: blowing
in the wind?
Editorial
Opposition by mainstream conservatives to key parts of
the package is part of an insidious trend
Mon 3 Jul
2023 14.03 EDT
A European
parliament plenary vote, held in mid-July, might normally pass under the radar
of all but the most passionate aficionados of Brussels politics. That will not
be the case next week, when environmental campaigners will watch through their
fingers as one of the most consequential decisions so far is made in relation
to the EU’s net zero targets.
Before
heading for their summer holidays, MEPs are expected to vote on a proposed
nature restoration law, committing European governments to rehabilitate and
rewild swathes of territory suffering from desertification, deforestation and
the draining of peatlands. Along with action on pesticides, this is essentially
the biodiversity strand to the EU’s green deal. The law’s role in facilitating
carbon capture and creating healthy, resilient ecosystems is deemed
indispensable by scientists, if emissions reduction targets are to be met. But
as with other aspects of the green transition, Europe’s increasingly dominant
right is now mounting a sustained campaign to derail it.
In the
context of post-Ukraine economic pressures and priorities, the European
People’s party (EPP) – which groups together centre-right parties – is arguing
for a pause in environmental legislation. To that end, the EPP has allied with
the climate-sceptic far right in Brussels, and is set to oppose the restoration
law. As a result, next week’s vote is on a knife edge. But the broader picture
is still more disturbing.
Amid
concerns over the cost of living crisis, and a growing challenge from populist
anti-green parties across Europe, mainstream conservatives are increasingly
viewing opposition to the timetable and cost of the net zero transition as
smart politics. In Germany, the extreme nationalists of Alternative für
Deutschland are vying for second place in the polls, after leading attacks on
government plans for the conversion of home heating systems to renewable
energy. The centre-right Christian Democratic Union, which before the last
election was contemplating coalition with the German Greens, is duly tacking in
the same direction.
In Spain –
where a snap election this month may see the far right enter government for the
first time since the return of democracy – the high-profile conservative mayor
of the Madrid region has accused the left of overstating the gravity of the
climate crisis. Elsewhere, the rise of the Farmer-Citizen Movement in the
Netherlands, which opposes attempts to reduce nitrogen emissions from intensive
farming, has come to symbolise a potential rural backlash against net zero
targets. Centre-right parties, for which agricultural regions are traditional
strongholds, are rushing to represent the cause.
The world
cannot afford for Europe to cool on its climate commitments. But as
conservatives seek to turn the green deal into a dividing line, progressive
leaders must respond to the threat where they have the power to do so. Much
more needs to be done to persuade the less well-off and rural communities that
they will be looked after in a time of upheaval. A renewed focus is needed on
meaningful subsidies – for example, for homeowners switching to renewable forms
of energy – and viable future pathways for those working in affected
industries. Brussels’ plan for a €87bn “social climate fund”, due to be phased
in from 2026, is nowhere near enough, given the scale and urgency of the task.
A new age
of economic and geopolitical insecurity has made a challenging transition even
tougher. In the face of political headwinds, it will not be accomplished on the
cheap.
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