A recent World Meteorological Organization (WMO) analysis indicates that for at least one of the next five years, the average world temperature will momentarily rise by 1.5°C over pre-industrial levels.
Given the severe climate backdrop, the European Parliament declared a climate alarm in November 2019 and asked the European Commission to adopt its proposals on reducing (1.5 °C) temperatures in order to make it easier to deal with global warming and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In response, the European Commission gave the green light to a document called the ‘European Green Deal’, which outlined “Europe as a pioneer of a climate-neutral continent,” a goal that should be achieved by 2050. In 2021, the European Commission announced a proposal to ensure that all sectors of the EU economy meet these climate and environmental challenges, specifically to reduce harmful emissions by 55% in the same decade. Consequently, the European Parliament approved the EU Climate Law on 24 June 2021, concretely the ‘Fit for 55’ legislation focusing on reducing emissions by 2030 and achieving climate neutrality by 2050. The pretext of the aforementioned bill is in line with the spirit of the 2015 Paris Agreement. Moreover, the Paris Agreement and the ‘European Green Deal’ are strongly linked and under the framework of the Paris Agreement, the EU is seeking to follow the roadmap of the European Green Deal. In particular, the first is focused on the general goal of defeating global warming, while the second is about considering specific steps and plans to accomplish the desired one.
With the mobilization of € 349 billion in green investment since 2021, the European Investment Group is on track to reach its target of €1 trillion in green financing by the end of the decade. Direct financing for environmental sustainability and climate action increased from €38 billion in 2022 to €49 billion in 2023. In 2023, the Bank invested more than €21 billion under the REPowerEU initiative and other programs to accelerate the green transition and decrease Europe’s reliance on fossil fuels. The electrical generation capacity funded could power 13.8 million homes.
In the end, it all depends on the addressees of the Paris Agreement and international climate treaties. To green, or not to green: that is the question: Whether the EU is a playground rather than a player, or it retains its actorness and strikes back with regulatory might?
EU plays a significant role in solving climate problems since it is a main champion of the circular economy action plan and greening of the economy. The philosophy behind its actions is explained and stipulated under EU secondary law binding acts, pertinent principles such as ‘polluter pays’, ‘precautionary principle’, and the principles of ‘attributed powers’ along with the mandatory requirements giving discretionary power to local authorities in EU member states. Henceforth, the EUclimate impact should be scaled by promoting renewable resource energy production and recycling that comes in combination with sophisticated environmental law instruments and regulatory measures.
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