Moving Forward - Europe’s Green Recovery

Before the Covid-19 crisis created a shift in the priorities of European leaders, the newly appointed European Commission shared its vision, launching the European Green Deal in December 2019. The deal outlined ambitious goals which included carbon neutrality by 2050 and a drive towards zero pollution. It provided a roadmap for making the EU’s economy sustainable by turning climate and environmental challenges into opportunities across all policy areas and making the transition just and inclusive for all.

March 2020 saw the publication of the Commission’s European Industrial Strategy for a globally competitive, green and digital Europe. It set out initiatives that aimed to support European industry, tackling issues in different areas, including skills, tax and raw materials. A new Circular Economy Action Plan was launched as one of the main building blocks of the European Green Deal. In addition, a dedicated strategy for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) aims to reduce red tape and help Europe’s SMEs to do business across the single market and beyond, access financing and help lead the way on digital and green transitions.

However, since the onslaught of Covid-19, the EU, national governments, society and businesses have rightly been managing their immediate response to the crisis. Day-by-day the Covid-19 pandemic is teaching us that unless we cooperate, we cannot move forward. The same may be said for the move towards sustainable business – towards what is good for the environment and climate, people and the economy. In every crisis there is opportunity, and it is evident the decisions and investments made now will be those that shape our societies and economies for years to come.

In mid-April, an alliance of 180 European politicians, business leaders, MEPs and environmental activists urged for increased green investment in the EU to develop “a new model of prosperity”. Instead of stimulus and recovery packages which may lock in ‘business as usual’ – there is a call to refocus, by investing in the new economy to come out of the crisis in better shape than we went into it, fit for the future: sustainable, inclusive and competitive.

In an open letter to industry groups and MEPs, Frans Timmermans, Vice-president of the European Commission who is responsible for the European Green Deal, declared that the EU should not return to a sluggish, linear economy struggling to increase employment rates and quality of life, while depleting natural resources, producing waste and pollutants. Instead, we must aim “for qualitative growth, with a circular, sustainable and highly competitive economy”.

Investing in modern, clean and efficient infrastructure may create more jobs and increase GDP.

National Government supports and stimulus packages offer an excellent opportunity to decouple economic growth from resource use – a priority of the Green Deal – by boosting investments in clean technologies and for example renewable energy based on solar, geothermal, biomass, ocean energy and wind power.

At Cork Chamber, we are calling for the medium- to long-term recovery to support the EU Green Deal and have recently communicated this to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD and Micheál Martin TD. This is the opportunity to commit to a positive agenda and in doing so commit to a sustainable economic, social and environmental recovery regionally, nationally and globally.

Moving forward, our challenge will be to secure the alignment of public policies for economic growth, job creation and investment with the transition towards climate neutrality and the goal of a sustainable future for all.