In an effort designed to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, the European Commission today presented the “European Green Deal” that includes actions to “boost the efficient use of resources by moving to a clean, circular economy and stop climate change, revert biodiversity loss and cut pollution.”
Among other things, the European Commission says that a sustainable blue economy will play a “central role” in addressing demands on EU land resources and climate change, noting opportunities for improved use of aquatic and marine resources and promoting the production and use of new sources of protein to “relieve pressure” on agricultural land.
Noting a need for healthy and resilient oceans, the Commission says it will analyze the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s “Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate” and propose maritime actions, including ways to “manage maritime space more sustainably” and “help[ing] tap into the growing potential of offshore renewable energy.” The Commission also pledges to support “more connected and well-managed marine protected areas,” and says that the Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 to be presented by March 2020 could include quantified objectives such as increasing the number of protected biodiversity-rich land and sea areas.
In addition, the Commission commits to taking a zero-tolerance approach to illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, and says that the 2020 UN Ocean Conference in Portugal will provide a venue for the EU to “highlight the importance of action on ocean issues.”
Within 100 days, the Commission will present the European Climate Law, Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, Industrial Strategy and Circular Economy Action Plan, Farm to Fork Strategy, and proposals for pollution-free Europe, with work immediately commencing to increase 2030 emissions targets and present a Sustainable Europe Investment Plan in early 2020 to help meet investment needs.
The Commission will also launch a “Climate Pact” in March to “give citizens a voice and role in designing new actions, sharing information, launching grassroots activities, and show-casing solutions that others can follow,” and invites the European Parliament and Council to endorse the plan.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in part called the Green Deal “our new growth strategy” said that that “[w]e 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.”
