Climate protection in danger: Greens warn of steps back in the Green Deal!

Climate protection in danger: Greens warn of steps back in the Green Deal!

Wien, Österreich - in Vienna warn leading green politicians, including Lena Schilling and Elisabeth Götze, of alarm signs in EU climate policy. On Monday, they commented concerns about the possible backwards of the European Green Deal, which could potentially endanger the development of strict environmental standards. In particular, the impending watering, postponement or the stop of important EU guidelines such as the Lief chain law and the taxonomy regulation are the focus of your criticism. These guidelines are crucial to commit companies to comply with human rights and environmental protection along their supply chains and to classify economic activities ecologically sustainably, such as Exxpress.at) reported.

The EU Lief Chain Act obliges companies to protect social and ecological standards. The Taxonomy Ordinance aims to control investments and define sustainable economic activities. This procedure is closely linked to the goals of the European Green Deal, which wants to reduce the net emissions of greenhouse gases to zero by 2050 and make the EU climate-neutral. Götze assumes that under these conditions, European companies would not benefit from the softening of the Green Deal, but would still have to be in competition that would have to accept child labor or deforestation.

EU taxonomy and its importance

EU taxonomy forms a central part of the sustainable financial framework of the EU and is an important instrument for promoting market transparency. It defines criteria for economic activities that match the ambitious goals of sustainable development, as formulated in the green deal. In doing so, it also determines six climate and environmental goals that apply to all Member States. These include the reduction in climate change and the adaptation to climatic changes as well as the protection of water resources and biodiversity. Taxonomy obliges the EU Commission to create a list of environmentally friendly activities to advance the transition to sustainability finance.ec.europa.eu.

In order to achieve the EU climate goals for 2030, the promotion of sustainable projects is essential. Taxonomy not only aims to combat Greenwashing and reduce market fragmentation, but also offers a common basis for companies. This is necessary to mobilize the necessary investment volume for the implementation of the climate goals.

The current status of the climate goals in the EU

With regard to the historical course of emissions, it can be seen that the greenhouse gas emissions of the EU in 2022 were around 3.4 billion tons of CO2 equivalent, making 29 % below the level of 1990. Nevertheless, the energy sector is responsible for 75 % of emissions, and in view of the goal of increasing renewable energies to 40 % of the energy mix. In 2023, 25 % of gross energy consumption were generated from renewable sources. By 2030, the photovoltaic performance is to be quadrupled to 600 gigawatts, while Germany and the Netherlands are leading in the use of solar energy, such as destatis.de.

The EU Commission has also set itself the goal of driving the decarbonization of the energy system forward by 2050 and establishing the emission-free new cars by 2035. This could be a significant departure of fossil fuels in the coming years, but in view of the challenges, the politicians in Vienna are critical of the adaptation process and are calling for a consistent course in climate policy.