Klimawandel

CLIMATE CHANGE

How can Europe become climate neutral faster and give other countries impetus for their climate goals?

The problem

The signs of climate change are obvious and need no further explanation. National solo actions will not be enough to prevent disaster.

I

n view of the climate changes already visible, the necessary measures must no longer be delayed. The climate does not stop at national borders. This makes it all the more important that a green deal, i.e. the integration of environmental and climate factors in all areas of life with the aim of reducing global temperature rises and minimising extreme weather conditions, should be supported by as many countries as possible.

At present, this will be difficult to implement due to a lack of unanimity in the Council. The EU has a role model if the consequences of climate change are to be successfully minimised or even reversed.

The Vision

There is not one vision in the fight against climate change. In addition to approaches to reducing floating-containing substances, protective measures such as the construction of new dikes or artificial irrigation systems will also be necessary.

For this reason, the idea of a ‘European energy transition’ should be mentioned as an example here, in order to illustrate the possibilities of the aforementioned ‘stage model’, in which the European institutions show a country-specific commitment according to their possibilities.

If a single member state has a climate-friendly solution or in-depth experience in its implementation, it can also make it available to other member states. Consistent standards can be coordinated to release additional scaling effects.

The implementation

All the prerequisites for the implementation of a European energy transition have already been met. One of the key hurdles could be that energy and climate policy is usually viewed first in national dimensions. The reduction of greenhouse gases is considered and measured on a country-by-country basis. Since climate change cannot be confined to national borders, country A could also engage in country B to reforest forests or develop locally alternative energy sources, because, for example, the climatic conditions there – sun and wind – are more favourable than in the home country. The effect thus achieved could nevertheless be reflected in the national climate balance.

In analogy to the already presented step model, future climate and environmental protection measures will also include visionaries, core supporters, graduated forms of country-specific activities and successors. It is to be feared that a national rethink, as in the past, will unfortunately only begin after a crisis experienced by the member states. In order to meet the success of a climate pioneer and the desired imitation effects, such actions must be specifically promoted. At the same time, we need to support a rethink through cushioning measures of this structural change. Therefore, in the case of legal conditions, a qualified voting procedure must replace unanimity in the sense of a multi-vote. In this way, Europe could become the world’s first climate-neutral continent before 2050, providing a major impetus for environmental and climate reform in other countries.

Last but not least, at this point,

without claiming to be exhaustive – a number of climate policy approaches can be mentioned as a concretization of the EU’s Green Deal:

A fund will be set up to finance the Green Deal. It offers private and institutional investors an attractive minimum interest rate. This would enable many people to have secure retirement provision and, above all, to ensure that sufficient funds are available to finance climate action.

A more ambitious, Europe-wide minimum carbon price within the European Emissions Trading System (ETS) and the promotion of energy-efficient innovation will lay the foundations for a green industrial policy. Non-European suppliers who fall below environmental and climate standards must pay for environmental and climate compensation.

Transitional funds for coal regions, deforestation and afforestation measures and other structural change aid in the sense of a migration strategy or bridge technology enable local climate and environmental initiatives.

If a Member State fails to achieve the CO2 reductions despite the funding opportunities offered, this will have consequences for future voting rights on climate and the environment in the Council and Parliament. In concrete terms, these rights of the countries concerned would be reduced to the level of the unimplemented objective 1:1. This will ensure that a high national interest in the implementation of the Green Deal is generated by the entire population. If this results in competition between the nation states for the most efficient and effective climate and environmental route, this is the intention.

European climate and environmental standards must also become binding on non-EU suppliers, according to a roadmap to be defined. In addition to the promotion of international projects, providers who do not comply with these requirements should be excluded from the EU internal market during a period to be defined.

Promoting the Cradle to Cradle approach to organic product development and the resulting opportunities for competition and differentiation from low-cost suppliers from non-EU countries through a labelling requirement and lower VAT.

Support for the systematic construction of seawater desalination plants powered by wound energy in order to prepare for future droughts.