The 2024 European Union elections shifted the composure of the European Parliament to the right. This political shift is concerning climate activists who fear the European People’s Party’s campaign rhetoric will result in a rolling back of the European Green Deal. Under the banner “a deal is a deal”, climate groups are organizing to protect recent gains.
The European Green Deal was approved in 2020, in an effort to create a comprehensive approach to offset the impacts of climate change. The package of policy initiatives was primarily based on making the Paris Agreement’s goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 a legal obligation. This starts with a goal of reducing GHG emissions by 50% by 2030, in a package known as Fit for 55.
However, the Green Deal wasn’t limited to GHG emissions. It included an array of environmental policies relating to biodiversity, nature restoration, sustainable farming, industry, and business. The result was a wave of new laws in 2023 and 2024.
The Regulation on Deforestation Free Products, known as the EUDR, requires companies in certain industries to ensure the products are free of deforestation. The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, also known as the CSRD, requires companies to file annual reports disclosing GHG emissions and other environmental policies. The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, also known as the CSDDD or CS3D, establishes a new due diligence burden on large companies to ensure that their value chain is environmentally friendly and meets human rights requirements. The Nature Restoration Directive requires member states to work to restore threatened ecosystems.
Initially, the new green directives were met with little resistance. Countries were eager to showcase their environmentally friendly actions. However, as the regulations began to pile up and business saw the repercussion of the actions, a green pushback began. This was most noticeable in the passage of the CSDDD.
The normal legislative process for the EU follows a standard path. Generally, the legislative bodies adopt a broad proposal. Each of the legislative bodies will then draft and adopt their position on what the final law should say. The European Parliament and the Commission of the EU will designate individuals to lead negotiations on their behalf. Once the negotiations are complete, the final law is brought back to the bodies for approval. Typically, the negotiated agreement is adopted without amendment.
For the CSDDD, everything followed the normal process until the negotiated agreement was released. Within days, multiple members of the Council stated they would not support the new proposal. It appeared the directive was dead. After weeks of back and forth, a watered-down version of the CSDDD was finally adopted. It was met with mixed reviews by climate activists who were upset the original proposal was not adopted, but relieved some legislation went into effect.
This anti-green rhetoric fed into the elections for the European Parliament in June 2024. The conservative European People’s Party ran a campaign that blamed many of the burdens on businesses on the green deal. It worked. The EPP gained seats. Environmentally friendly political parties did not fare as well. The Greens-European Free Alliance and Renew Europe both saw significant losses.
The victory by the EPP is indicative of a broader green pushback. People seem to like environmentally friendly policies, until they must start making personal sacrifices. It is one thing to say you are worried about climate change. It is another to completely change your lifestyle to end carbon emissions.
Many climate activists are concerned that the new parliament will begin to rollback previously adopted environmental laws. Even the most optimistic believe that the result will be a significant watering down of the remaining Green Deal initiatives. Various organizations involved in the implementation of EU directives have quietly paused work to see what direction the new leadership will take.
Climate activists are not going to let the European Green Deal go away quietly. Immediately following the elections, ClientEarth, a nonprofit that uses legal resources to advocate for environmental action, issued a statement that their lawyers are “poised to the defend our future.”
In the press release, head of ClientEarth’s Brussels office Anaïs Berthier said:
“The parties that gained significant MEPs in these elections have run a dangerous and misleading campaign against environmental legislation, which has become the scapegoat for all that is wrong at EU level. This is deeply worrying and the truth is exactly the contrary. They campaigned on security, but ignored the major security risks that the climate, biodiversity and pollution crises pose for Europeans.
“Carrying on with business as usual, or worse, opting for a deregulation agenda, threatens our very survival. Our MEPs have a duty to put the interests of Europeans first – that means protecting and restoring our planet, which we depend on to survive and build a more climate resilient and just society. As environmental lawyers, we will be watching – and poised to defend our future if we need to.”
All is not lost for climate activists. While the EPP did gain significantly and holds the largest voting bloc, with seven major political parties, they only control 26% of the body. Coalitions must be made to govern. Organizations are optimistic that enough of the other political parties support the Green Deal to ensure its survival.
A new petition created by The Club of Rome is being circulated by climate activists and members of parliament as a call for action to protect the European Green Deal. The petition states:
“The EPP has called on all parties to respect the European Election outcome and re-elect President von der Leyen. Now we call on the EPP, all parties and the President to stand by the European Green Deal (EGD) as their shared legacy.
The EGD is Europe’s North Star. It will ensure Europe is innovative, competitive and secure. It will guarantee economic stability and democratic integrity. It will ensure all citizens thrive not just survive when faced with future pandemics, environmental (including climate) and economic impacts.
To guarantee resilience to future shocks and stresses, the EGD must be implemented, optimised and systematised today, not tomorrow.
Citizens call for it, Science demands it, Europe needs it.”
Ultimately, the European Green Deal is in a precarious position. Climate activists are right to be worried about its future. The EU could be the indicator of a broader green pushback. Despite massive gains over the past few years, they are poised to face major setbacks.
