Dithering on the Edge of Europe
Dithering on the Edge of Europe

S2: European Union - Green Deal Part 1/3

September 11, 2020

AI Summary

5 min read

The European Union’s Green Deal, adopted in December 2019, is the first comprehensive climate plan passed by a major economy. Its headline goal is to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. But as this episode of Dithering on the Edge of Europe makes clear, the plan is not a Green New Deal in the sense that the Green Party or Labour Party have proposed in the UK. The EU calls it a Green Deal, and its 2050 target is far more cautious than the 2030 targets pushed by those parties and by groups like Extinction Rebellion. The hosts, Rich McCarthy and Corolla Böhm, walk through the plan’s architecture, its tensions, and the uncomfortable gap between what is politically achievable and what the science demands.

The 2050 target and the gap it creates

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (00:06) **Episode Introduction & Context** - Hosts Rich and Corolla set up the episode as part of a series on green deals, following a previous episode on the UK Labour Party's Green Industrial Revolution.
  • 2 (01:12) **The EU Green Deal: First-Mover Advantage vs. Survival** - Discussion of why the EU is pursuing the Green Deal, balancing economic benefits with the existential need to act.
  • 3 (05:14) **Political Timeline and Opt-Outs** - Key dates and political decisions behind the Green Deal's adoption.
  • 4 (06:27) **The 2050 Target vs. 2030: Why the Difference Matters** - Explanation of the EU's 2050 net-zero target compared to the 2030 targets of the UK Labour and Green Parties.
  • 5 (12:58) **Why 2050? The Politics of Feasibility vs. Necessity** - The hosts discuss why the EU chose a later target, balancing political realism with scientific urgency.
  • 6 (14:30) **Green Recovery from COVID-19** - The debate over using the Green Deal as the framework for economic recovery from the pandemic.
  • 7 (18:50) **Political Tensions: Opt-Outs and Uneven Playing Fields** - Discussion of member state resistance and the challenge of a "just transition."

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

(now correct upload) Union’s Green Deal was announced by Ursula von der Leyen back in 2019 and voted in by the European Parliament in January of this year. In this first of three episodes, Rich and  Carola touch on the politics of getting to this point and explore three policy areas of the deal: Clean Energy; Farm to Fork; and Biodiversity. Time to get foxy. Who is the pain-in-the-butt nation that the EU is glad to see the back off? And will there be a time again where we can fly without guilt? 

This deal covers 9 policy areas, and in this episode we will cover 
  • Clean Energy 
  • Farm to Fork
  • Biodiversity
 
And in the next episodes we will cover
  • Eliminating Pollution
  • Sustainable Agriculture
  • Sustainable Industry
  • Building and Renovation
  • Sustainable mobility
  • Climate action

Key Resources 

Further Links
 
 
Dithering on the Edge of Europe

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