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Weerstand tegen Green Deal van de EU infographic
Graphic shows countries where the resistance to the Green Deal is greatest.
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Weerstand tegen Green Deal van de EU

By Duncan Mil

September 28, 2023 - The EU faces a growing backlash against its policies to address climate change and protect the environment. The Commission has proposed more than 30 laws to deliver green goals since 2019.

By 2021, the Commission agreed to channel 37% of its economic recovery funds -- almost €300 billion -- to the Green Deal’s goal of net zero emissions by 2050.

Last year, renewables overtook gas to become the leading source of electricity generation in the EU, with solar power surging by 24%.

Yet Europe now faces growing pushback against policies to address climate change and protect the environment, causing its green agenda to fray. The “greenlash” is most significant in Germany, where the public is unhappy over the phaseout of gas boilers. At the same time, the car industry has successfully squeezed in a loophole for synthetic fuels to lengthen the lifespan of conventional internal combustion engines (ICE), which the Commission had pledged to phase out by 2035.

In May, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the Belgian prime minister, Alexander De Croo, publicly called for a “pause” in the EU’s Green Deal agenda, while Poland is fighting for exemptions to sustain its electricity-generation coal subsidies.

Ahead of the European Parliament elections and several national elections in 2024, European policymakers need to convince voters that keeping the green transition on course is in their interests at a time when many are concerned about the rising cost of living.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 28/09/2023; STORY: Graphic News; PICTURES: Getty Images
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