Until last year, Europe was on track to become the first climate-neutral continent in the world. More than 90% of Europeans wanted to fight against climate change, with young people leading the way through movements such as Fridays for Future.
Policymakers answered the call with the Green Deal. This provided hope for the planet, with a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, and reach climate neutrality by 2050.
Now European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who started her second mandate last year, has reversed course. In the name of reducing bureaucratic burdens for companies and boosting competitiveness, environmental requirements introduced in the previous term are being set aside.
The ‘Omnibus’ package put forward the Commission aims to simplify some existing regulations, and dispense with others altogether. This has raised fears over the fate of the Deforestation Law, whose entry into force was already postponed a few months ago. The proposed Forest Monitoring Regulation and Soil Monitoring Directive are also unlikely to see the light of day.
The Commission has even sought to weaken environmental NGOs, by delegitimising them and trying to take away funding they receive from the EU through the LIFE programme.
It’s as if we had stopped altering the earth's surface; as if we had already recovered some of the 85% of wetlands we have lost or brought more than 15% of Europe’s forests up to a favourable conservation status; as if the 1 million species at risk of extinction by 2050 were guaranteed to survive.
The European People’s Party has for some time been moving away from its commitment to the Green Deal and yielding to pressure from the far right, adopting “denialist” positions that refute our deep dependence on nature, alongside disinformation pushing for climate postponement.
In reality, by continuing to inflict systemic damage on our biodiversity, we are paving the way for ecological and climate disaster. The path taken by right-wing and far-right parties is leading us at high speed towards an even more uncertain future, especially for young people who will inherit a planet where life itself is threatened.
New approach needed to climate crisis
It has become clear that the political class is not up to the task. It puts partisan interests before the primary need to protect our citizens, our resources, our biodiversity, our planet and our future. A new approach is needed.
The idea of nature having legal rights has been gaining momentum for several decades; in 2008, Ecuador became the first country to recognise nature as a legal person, followed in 2023 by Panama. New Zealand and Bangladesh also grant rights to natural entities. Europe should have the same understanding.
Young Europeans need to rediscover the spirit of Fridays for Future. They need to assert their right to enjoy a healthy environment, clean air to breathe and safe water to consume; to demand fertile soils and sustainable oceans to ensure their long-term food security.
Taking action today to protect the European Green Deal is a generational duty because the future condition of the planet is at stake. More than three-quarters of European agree that EU environmental legislation is necessary. If elected officials won’t respond, young Europeans must vote with their feet.
It’s time for young Europeans to take to the streets to defend the European Green Deal. We must urgently develop an alternative to the "take-make-use-lose" economy, and the Green Deal is the best framework for us to do so.
Young European, take to the streets in defence of the Green Deal and put the health of our planet at the heart of our economic system.
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