Betül ÇEVRİMEL 1207200015

Betül ÇEVRİMEL 1207200015

ABSTRACT This paper has two major aims. First, it sketches out the political, social, and economic
dimensions and policies of the European Green Deal briefly. Second, it highlights how the European Green
Deal will be able to mobilize the European Union’s neighbods and partners to take concrete steps towards
green transition. This paper argues the power of European Green Deal’s projects and strategies for
mobilizing.

Keywords: European Green Deal, EU Green Policies, Green Transition, Climate Change, Sustainability

1.INTRODUCTION

European Green Deal (EGD) is a project is still builting by European Union. Decisively, it is an attempt to
hold together a fragile political root needed to win the approval of the European Commission and its
agenda by the European Parliament and European Council. Beyond that, the EGD is a mixture of political
projects, aims, risks and success factors. The EGD was conceived as a climate project that aims to make
Europe a climate-neutral continent in an instant; social project, as a fair transition support; as an economic
project, the EU is working to revive investment and competitiveness, and aimed circular economy; and a
political approach that will bring more security to the global climate. The EGD is working for reach its goals
in 2050. Ursula von der Leyen said: ‘‘The European Green Deal is our new growth strategy – for a growth
that gives back more than it takes away. It shows how to transform our way of living and working, of
producing and consuming so that we live healthier and make our businesses innovative. We can all be
involved in the transition, and we can all benefit from the opportunities. We will help our economy to be
a global leader by moving first and moving fast. We are determined to succeed for the sake of this planet
and life on it – for Europe's natural heritage, for biodiversity, for our forests and our seas. By showing the
rest of the world how to be sustainable and competitive, we can convince other countries to move with
us.’’ (COM 2019) The EGD represents an opportunity for European Commission to explain sustainability
practices and prioritize the issue of environmental protection. In order to achieve its goals, action must
be immediate. The EGD tries to mobilize other countries and partners. The EU needs to wake up to the
consequences abroad of its domestic decisions. It should prepare to help manage the geopolitical aspects
of the EGD. Relationships with important neighbourhood countries such as Russia and Algeria, and with
global players including the United States, China, and Saudi Arabia, are central to this effort. Among the
changing world balances and great powers, the European Union continues to produce policies to mobilize
the great powers, its neighbors, and partners decisively.

2. POLITICAL DIMENSION

The global challenges of climate change and environmental degradation require a global response. The
EGD will continue to promote its environmental goals and standards in the UN's Biodiversity and Climate
Conventions and reinforce its green diplomacy. The G7, G20, international conventions, and bilateral
relationships will be used to persuade others to step up their efforts. The EGD will also use trade policy to
ensure sustainability and it will build partnerships with its neighbours in the Balkans and Africa to help
them with their own transitions. (COM 2019). The EU’s climate diplomacy is a complex and multilayered
process of high-stakes bilateral alliance building and (collective) regional strategies. Interests and
expectations in the EGD’s climate and energy diplomacy differ significantly across these different layers.
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The EGD communication presents the EU as a ‘global climate leader’ and tries to develop the concept of
‘green deal diplomacy’ (COUNCL 2019). This is not a full-fledged agenda, but can be roughly characterised
by a combination of: (a) setting a credible example with its own transition; (b) an integrated external
action response through climate diplomacy, trade, investment and development policies; (c) bringing the
EGD into all EU and Member states diplomatic channels, including the G7 and G20, as well as bilateral
partnerships with third countries; and (d) putting particular emphasis on the EU neighbourhood and
relations with Africa. The latest in a series of annual EU council conclusions on climate diplomacy also
adds a stronger focus on energy diplomacy, calling for clear timelines for phasing out fossil fuels timelines
(COUNCL 2021). The external dimension of the Green Deal is very much a work in progress that depends
both on domestic policy developments and on the EU’s relations with partner countries, and at the level
of regions and multilateral fora.

3. ECONOMIC DIMENSION

European Green Deal’s economic policy says that both public and private sectors will need to sustain these
investment flows over years. President Ursula von der Leyen said: ‘’ […] We will help our economy to be
a global leader by moving first and moving fast. We are determined to succeed for the sake of this planet
and life on it – for Europe's natural heritage, for biodiversity, for our forests and our seas. By showing the
rest of the world how to be sustainable and competitive, we can convince other countries to move with
us.’’ (COM 2019). Sustainable projects through technical assistance and advisory services to help project
promoters. The European Green Deal financialized with the EU budget and with the activities of the
European Investment Bank together with national funding sources. Businesses and industry will be
encouraged to develop new market-leading environmentally friendly technologies and sustainable
solutions. The EGD aims creating markets for clean technologies and products. The new Circular Economy
Action Plan 1 presents new initiatives along the entire life cycle of products in order to modernise and
transform our economy while protecting the environment. It is driven by the ambition to make sustainable
products that last and to enable our citizens to take full part in the circular economy and benefit from the
positive change that it brings about.

4. SOCIAL DIMENSION

The European Green Deal is a social project as well as an economic and political project. The challenges
that climate change offers us are as important as the problem of inequalities. The EGD conducts policies
about education, social policy, and employment. The mechanism intends to protect citizens, reskill
workers and help to develop climate neutral economic activities. The European Green Deal contains
specific actions that will directly improve the health and well-being of the public. The first of these are the
actions to tackle pollution of air and water and pollution caused by hazardous chemicals. These directly
affect human health. While all regions and all parts of European society experience climate change, the
impacts are felt unequally and serve to heighten existing inequalities between regions and between social
groups. The social dimension of the European Green Deal needs to address the inequalities related to
climate impacts as well as the distributional and employment effects of climate policy. For the European
Green Deal to work as a European project it needs to be directly relevant to the lives of European citizens.
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Frans Timmermans said that “We propose a green and inclusive transition to help improve people’s well-
being and secure a healthy planet for generations to come.” (COM 2019)

Cleaner Better Public

Reusable or Energy Transport
Recyclable Alternatives
Packaging
Better Health
for Current
and Future
Generations

Renovated
Homes,
Schools, and
Hospitals Less Pesticides
and Fertilisers

Healthier
More Food
environmentally
friendly products
in our shops

Figure 1 : What's in it for me? The EGD, European Commission, December 2019, ISBN 978-92-76-13416-9

4. THE EUROPEAN GREEN DEAL’S MOBILIZING POWER

Mobilizing power is about how the EGD projects its interests and values to the world. The world and
climate face to face with unprecedented challenges in the global rules-based system. Confrontational and
competitive autocrats are now leading a rising number of major economies. In this context, the success
of the Paris Agreement is fundamental both for Europe’s climate security and for restoring faith in
multilateral diplomacy. The Paris Agrement 2 is key for tackling climate change. A failure to increase
aggregate global climate ambitions over the next five years would dangerously undermine the Paris
Agreement as a whole, as well as global climate security. Europe cannot achieve climate security solely
within its own borders. Global climate politics will need to be a clear focus of the new geopolitical position.
This means a strong projection from the EU on its position in global clean technology markets, and
cooperation with major economies such as China on setting common standards and financial rules for
these products and services.3 Bringing other countries along, promoting cleaner production methods
globally and encouraging other countries to establish their own frameworks to incentivise cleaner
production. It means resetting relationships with current fossil fuel suppliers and helping them to diversify
their economies. And it requires pushing far greater global investment in climate resilience and
adaptation, to shield the EU economy from the consequences of climate-related disasters. The EU will use
its external action, trade policy and international cooperation to support global transformation to low-
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carbon sustainable development pathways, in line with the European Consensus for Development. This
will require continued efforts to mainstream climate change and environment into public policies, as well
as a reliable investment framework in EU partner countries. (COM 2018). The EGD’s aims are engage with
G20 countries who are responsible for 80% of global greenhouse gas emissions, work with Africa to bring
climate and environment issues to the centre of our relations, following the Poznan Summit, set up a
Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, and mirroring the Green Deal. The EGD conducts a set of policies
to achieve these goals (COM 2019). The EGD conducts a set of policies for building green alliances with
neighborhood countries and partners. Relationships with important neighbourhood countries such as
Russia and Algeria, and with global players including the United States, China, and Saudi Arabia, are central
to this effort, the EGD is helping neighbouring oil and gas-exporting countries manage the repercussions.
The EGD should engage with these countries to foster their economic diversification, including into
renewable energy and green hydrogen that could in the future exported to Europe.4 The EGD increased
recycling volumes and substitution of critical materials to reduce external dependence. The EGD work
with great powers like United States and China together, to apply similar carbon border measures. The
EGD also promote global coalitions for climate change, to make the world sustainable. Challenges include
managing the near-term transitions in existing energy suppliers such as Algeria, Libya, and Azerbaijan – all
historical failures in terms of economic Decoupling - which will be closely monitored in relation to how
Europe manages the spillover effects of its transition and is at risk of instability. At the same time, the EU
has the opportunity to facilitate normative-regulatory exchange and transfer, helping neighbors to
improve technical standards and harmonize regulatory systems in order to connect to the EU's energy
and clean gas markets. (PASTUKHOVA 2020).

Figure 2: Oil balance by region, 2019, source: Bruegel/ECFR based on BP Statistical Review of World Energy (2020)

The expected reduction in the EU's oil and gas imports (see, figure 2) will have an almost immediate effect
by reducing investment in new fossil fuel infrastructure and even reducing maintenance efforts for
existing infrastructure. This will happen despite the fact that, as mentioned above, the EU is expected to
continue importing oil and natural gas in unchanged volumes for at least a decade. For gas, it is important
to note that in the 2030-time frame, Europe's main energy supplier Russia will even be able to benefit
from the European Green Deal, since the transition from coal to gas is necessary Rapidly reducing EU
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energy sector emissions. The role of natural gas as a transition fuel in the EU is likely to mean an increase
in imports.

5. CONCLUSION

To deliver the European Green Deal, there is a need to rethink policies for clean energy supply across the
economy, industry, production and consumption, large-scale infrastructure, transport, food and
agriculture, construction, taxation, and social benefits. To achieve these aims, it is essential to increase
the value given to protecting and restoring natural ecosystems, to the sustainable use of resources and to
improving human health. This is where transformational change is most needed and potentially most
beneficial for the EU economy, society, and natural environment. The EU should also promote and invest
in the necessary digital transformation and tools as these are essential enablers of the changes. (COM
2019). So is the European Green Deal the next important thing, a game-changing strategy for the future
of the EU that will radically change the way we think and go about the economy, the environment and
society? Yes, The EGD is now one of the biggest set of policies to conduct a green transformation. The
EGD is the financial firepower to support the size of the intensification of monitoring activities and the
scope of the action, then EGD certainly has the potential to move mountains. EU leaders will be able to
seize the opportunity presented by the coronavirus pandemic to precisely shape the EU's recovery from
the crisis in line with the objectives of the EGD (MUNTA 2020). The EGD is the culmination of a gradual
process that is changing the hearts and minds of leaders and citizens about the importance of aligning our
economic and social activities with environmental goals. Whether Member States will be willing to match
the EU's ambiance level with domestic policy activism. The Commission, the EP and the pace-setting
countries will be hoping to avoid another post-crisis period marked by a lack of ambition, disregard for
the environmental acquis and policy divergence at the national level. It is certain that the EGD is the most
successful and strongest policy series in the field of sustainability and green policies. In the future, it will
affect the great powers of the world with the gradual growth of the European Union.
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NOTES

1 European Commission, March 2020, The EGD, ISBN 978-92-76-17017-4

2 is an international treaty on climate change, adopted in 2015, it covers climate change mitigation, adaptation,
and finance

3 Leonard, M., J.Pisani-Ferry, J. Shapiro, S. Tagliapietra and G. Wolff (2021) ‘The geopolitics of the European Green Deal’, Policy
Contribution 04/2021, Bruegel

4 Leonard, M., J.Pisani-Ferry, J. Shapiro, S. Tagliapietra and G. Wolff (2021) ‘The geopolitics of the European Green Deal’, Policy
Contribution 04/2021, Bruegel