A “Teal” Deal for European agriculture MAVROEIDIS, Antonios; STAVROPOULOS, Panteleimon; ROUSSIS, Ioannis ...
Notulae scientia biologicae,
06/2024, Letnik:
16, Številka:
2
Journal Article
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The European Union (EU) has been actively combating climate change for decades, and in 2019 it introduced its most ambitious project to date, the European Green Deal (EGD). EGD includes a variety of ...policies and strategies aimed at mitigating the adverse effects of climate change, foster an economic growth, and promote social equity. Recently, the European Commission has been contemplating the development of the European Blue Deal (EBD), which aims to address the growing water crises and water insecurity issues within the EU. Similar to the EGD, the EBD would encompass all sectors of the European economy, seeking integrated solutions to these pressing environmental problems. This review aims to assess the progress of the EGD, evaluate the objectives of the EBD, and provide insights into the factors that could either catalyze or hinder their effective and harmonious implementation. The concept of a "Teal Deal" (a combination of the blue and green color) which combines elements of both the EGD and the EBD, is explored, with particular emphasis on its implications for the agrifood sector. Here we argue on the necessity for a holistic approach to agricultural sustainability, rapid advancements in renewable energy, the adoption of crop diversification strategies, and the development of effective international policies to ensure global cooperation and support for these transformative initiatives. By addressing these key areas, the EU can make significant strides towards achieving its environmental and economic goals.
Economic, social and environmental sustainability are becoming more important in urban and territorial development policies in Europe and internationally. Recently, the United States and Europe have ...put forth the green deals proposing programmatic provisions for achieving territorial sustainability through the redevelopment of brownfield land into Sustainable Industrial Areas (SIAs). This opinion paper presents the benefits of the European Green Deal (EGD) policies as support for brownfield land redevelopment, SIA implementation and urban regeneration in light of the experiences of many countries in the European Union (EU). Moreover, this paper makes policy recommendations and discusses future research directions.
•The European Green Deal provisions inspire the brownfield land redevelopment from a sustainable perspective.•The redevelopment of industrial area in Sustainable Industrial Area (SIA) provides economic, environmental-social benefits.•SIA experiences in Europe can provide decision-makers with guidelines for the conversion of brownfield land.•Urban regeneration actions for SIA by the European Green Deal can cover multi-dimensional areas, from small to large scale.•Using natural elements can foster sustainable urban development.
Sustainability is a key goal of the European Union, which is seen as a global leader of change in tackling climate change, as well as building green economic sustainability, leading to greater social ...prosperity. A milestone of sustainable development to support the European Union in achieving climate neutrality is the European Green Deal. Its initiatives aim to build a competitive and innovative EU economy while respecting and protecting the environment. According to current priorities, the European Union aims to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, thanks to critical raw materials. The purpose of this article is to analyse and assess the impact of critical raw materials on the sustainability of the European Union. The study uses a scoping review methodology and statistical analysis based on the Shapiro-Wilk test and Spearman correlation coefficient. The results show that critical raw materials are important for achieving sustainable development and implementing the EU economy towards climate neutrality. This paper contributes to the literature on sustainability. It can also provide important information for policymakers to understand how to shape green policies in the context of the strategic importance of critical raw materials in the transformation of an eco-innovative economy.
The EU has traditionally adopted a ‘silo approach’ in the policy areas of climate change (CC), biodiversity (BIO) and circular economy (CE), which does not reflect the actual interlinkages between ...these different domains. The European Green Deal (EGD), in contrast, has been shaped as an integrated growth strategy, which aims at transforming the EU into a climate neutral and resource efficient economy, while protecting, conserving and enhancing the EU's natural capital. The present article carries out an in-depth qualitative analysis to investigate whether the ambition of making the EU environmental policy more consistent with the ‘Nexus thinking’ has been really embedded in the policy design of the whole EGD strategic framework (which currently comprises almost 30 strategic documents). It emerges that, while many CC-BIO-CE interlinkages have been addressed, others that may be critical to meeting the EGD goals still need to be fully understood and managed. Among trade-offs, a special attention should be paid to the planned use of the maritime space according to different objectives that seem difficult to reconcile, the ‘substitution process’ triggered by the large-scale deployment of zero-emission vehicles, and the potential effects on biodiversity of the increasing use of biomaterials. With regard to synergies, the CE-BIO connection may be strengthened through a stricter focus of the CE concept on how resources are extracted (which could include the implementation of regenerative practices). Moreover, in order to truly incorporate CE into CC policy, the real impact of the former on GHG emissions should be better demonstrated and measured.
•The EGD aims at reflecting the actual Nexus between climate change, biodiversity and circular economy.•However, some synergies and trade-offs between these different domains are not fully understood and managed.•These shortcomings may undermine the achievement of the EGD goals.
Biomass has been demonstrated as a capable source of energy to fulfill the increasing demand for clean energy sources which could last a long time. Replacing fossil fuels with biomass-based ones can ...potentially lead to a reduction of carbon emissions, which is the main target of the EU climate strategy. Based on RED II (revised Renewable Energy Directive 2018/2001/EU) and the European Green Deal, biomass is a promising energy source for achieving carbon neutrality in the future. However, the sustainable potential of biomass resources in the forthcoming decades is still a matter of question. This review aims at estimating the availability of biomass for energy reasons in the EU, and to evaluate its potential to meet the coal power plant capacity of the main lignite-producer countries, including Germany, Poland and Greece. Plants in line with the sustainability criteria of RED II have been selected for the preliminary estimations concerning their full conversion to the biomass power concept. Furthermore, the various barriers to biomass utilization are highlighted, such as the stranded asset risk of a future coal phase-out scenario, biomass supply chain challenges, biomass availability in main lignite-producer EU countries, the existing full conversion technologies, and biomass cost. A variety of challenges in the scenario of lignite substitution with biomass in a plant are investigated in a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis. Technological risks and issues should be tackled in order to achieve the coal phase-out EU goal, mainly with regard to the supply chain of biomass. In this direction, the development of logistics centers for the centralized handling of biomass is strongly recommended.
The European Green Deal along with directives promoting Circular Economy support sustainability transition and foster green growth through developing appropriate funding. However, information on how ...to access such funding affects firms' decision to expand their business strategy. This paper investigates the effect of information about financing tools on the adoption of Circular Economy business activities by exploring whether the better-informed firms are ‘greener’ and what influences such decision through a switching endogenous regressor model to account for endogeneity and selectivity bias. Data on European SMEs is combined with country-specific characteristics and econometric results indicate that better informed firms are by 65 percentage points more likely to adopt an activity promoting Circular Economy, highlighting that awareness about funding tools is crucial for sustainability transition. Evidence advocates for mainstreaming information regarding funding sources to pave the way towards green growth. A rebound effect regarding the use of renewables is observed whilst evidence points towards the rejection of Porter Hypothesis. Policy makers should target in fostering a greener business environment for the firms that engage in Circular Economy practices through increased information on funding options. Findings are also pertinent to the ongoing discussion and policy agenda around acceleration of the transition to a greener European Economy.
•We explore whether better informed firms are greener and what drives that decision.•Firms with information on funding tools are by 65% more likely to be greener.•Mainstreaming information about funding paves the way towards green growth.•Better informed firms are not deterred by the complexity of funding procedures.•Funders should reward trailblazing firms by simplifying funding acquisition.
The European Green Deal is the new strategy for economic growth adopted by the European Commission (EC) in late 2019. One of the most important tasks in the realisation of this strategy is the ...mobilisation of the industry for a clean and circular economy (CE). Currently, the European Union (EU) is in the process of transformation towards a CE model, which was announced in 2014. The CE assumes a transition from a linear model based on take–make–dispose to a circular model, in which waste, if it arises, becomes a valuable resource. At the same time, it is recommended to use raw materials (RMs) more efficiently and to recycle them. The EC underlines that both changes in the management of mineral resources in individual member states and their effects should be monitored. Therefore, in 2018, the EC pointed out issues related to RM management as important elements of the monitoring framework in transformation process towards CE. The paper presents strategic directions aimed at sustainable and circular RM management in the EU, with a strong emphasis on the key elements of sustainable development—environmental, economic and social. Moreover, the importance of mineral resources management in the EC in the context of transformation towards the European Green Deal and CE is presented, and the results of selected CE indicators related to the RMs, and indicators that present sustainable RMs management are discussed. The core of the paper is presentation of a set of recommended actions which should be taken in coming years with strong emphasis on the implementation of the sustainable development (SD) principles. RM management faces a number of challenges, primarily in achieving increased levels of critical raw materials (CRMs) recycling, as well as the greater involvement of stakeholders themselves and awareness raising in the field of SD and CE among enterprises operating in the RMs sector. Currently, all member states are working together to accelerate the transformation process in the area of CE and the European Green Deal, e.g., by implementing national CE programs. A great opportunity to accelerate the transformation process is the new financial perspective for projects under the balanced and circular management of RMs—Horizon Europe, which plans to finance the new projects on RMs management and recycling.
In 2019, the Von der Leyen Commission made a grand entrance announcing an ambitious political agenda, the European Green Deal (EGD), combining its sustainability agenda and meeting environmental ...challenges with the pursuit of economic growth. In this paper, the author discusses the role of technology in the EGD through the lens of technological determinism. It is argued that, in many ways, the EGD overestimates the importance of technology, especially new technology. Unlike typical technological determinist views, the EGD recognises the importance of human agency. However, the success of human and social agency as drivers change in this project depends on preferences of actors involved in this green transition, including technological preferences. The author argues that the source of these biases lies with the economic policy foundations of the EGD which lead to prioritising economic interest over environmental needs. The article suggests that greater reliance on environmental regulation may restore the appropriate balance between economy and environment, and between the belief in the power of new technology and people's responsibility for the environmental and other consequences of technology production and use, and thus improve the prospects of the EGD in its environmental and sustainability aspirations.
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