On 1 December, 2019, the new European Commission took office. Addressing the major concerns of climate crisis and led by its president, Ursula Von der Leyen, European Commission presented the European Green Deal, a 2050 target for Europe to be the first carbon-neutral continent.

The European Union wants to be the global leader in fighting the climate crisis. To do so, a clear and well-thought-out strategy is needed, and several important points must be addressed. The extract from Elements of the Green Deal demonstrates that a set of deeply transformative policies were proposed in order to make an impact.

As an example, if we look at the policy of Supplying clean, affordable and secure energy (under Read  More+) – it states that energy production and consumption are responsible for 75% of the greenhouse gas emissions.

Following the new set of policies, each EU Member State presented their national energy and climate plan to the European Commission, ensuring that the level of ambition is still aligned. In addition to major changes such as decarbonising the gas market, there is also focus on smart grids, hydrogen networks, carbon capture and energy storage. Those fields will play a key role in the energy transition. The integration will be just as important as it will need to  ensure inclusiveness and benefit the consumers. Last but not least, for all the wind power enthusiasts, it is stated that the offshore wind production will be essential for the transition.

In my opinion, the EU Member States will play a key role in adapting national regulations to foster new and more efficient energy systems (from production to consumption). The EU also enhances the need of financial sustainability by creating several funds for green investment, research, innovation and education. A highlight of the Green Deal is to ensure a fair transition for all EU Member States, allowing them to generate equal economic growth and decrease gaps in economies. By March this year the EU will even launch a European Climate Pact to focus on knowledge sharing, citizen engagement and facilitation on the creation of initiatives.

Even though the EU wants to lead this, it is also engaging with partners from G20 to developing countries, in order to push for a global solution rather than a local one.

More and more young people are concerned about the climate crisis, so the European Commission partnered with other institutions in the field to encourage a youth dialogue.. As a result, I had the honor to attend as a Portuguese youth representative to the Youth Dialogue: Exchange between the European Commission and Young Europeans about the European Green Deal, organised by the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) and hosted by the Directorate General of the Environment (DG Environment) of the European Commission in Brussels. Throughout the event, several topics from the Green Deal were discussed, encouraging students and young professionals to offer their proposals and ideas.

Some of the key points to emerge from the event were all centered around the need of having inter-generational discussion (from policy-making to environmental impact) in order encourage innovations by younger generation that would contribute to solving the crisis.

Using Le Chatelier’s principle, the world and society as we know it will change due to the disturbances that we caused; however, it is up to us to decide how the end state will be.

You can also sign up to EIT InnoEnergy CommUnity to see how they are involved in Energy Policy Programme here.

By Miguel Mosca, EIT InnoEnergy Master School student