This could be bad news for new climate ambition of the EU countries after the Green party lost in the European Parliament elections when it has already been pulled down by the Russia-Ukraine war to some extent, but this would not really make a significant dent to long-term goals that are already in place.
In addition, when the 27 member states of the EU meet to decide on a new global climate finance goal as part of developing countries at the 29th session of UN Climate Summit (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan in November, its impact may also be felt.
While there may not be a tectonic shift in terms of overall planning, some pressure is already being seen during ongoing negotiations on this issue at a UN conference in Bonn where countries attempt to outline climate finance in broad terms before it can crystallise at Baku. The new global financial regime for addressing climate change will replace existing targets for annual contributions from developed countries including EU member states; these targets currently stand at $100bn per year. This money is intended to help them reduce emissions and adapt to a changing climate.
However, experts believe that parliamentary results do not signify an end to Europe’s progressive stance on climate change. Linda Kalcher, Executive Director of Strategic Perspectives who is based in Brussels opines “possibly certain policies might not happen under the rubric of ‘climate ambition’, and that’s okay.”
Experts even pointed out that EU’s commitment towards climate diplomacy will remain intact while the Union Member States continue along with their journey towards UN summit on Climate Change. “Climate-progressive Europe still stands. The EU both can -and has to- continue acting as a force for good as regards global climate diplomacy,” said Dan Jørgensen from Denmark’s Ministry for Development Cooperation and Global Climate Policy. “With plenty work left still Europe shall remain serious about meeting its commitments related with climatic changes. Green transformation cannot go back,” said Dan Jørgensen, Ministry for Development Cooperation and Climate Policy, Denmark.
Curiously enough, despite their overall poor showing, the Greens who have advocated ambitious climate actions within EU either retained or won seats in Denmark, Sweden and Netherlands. They suffered major setbacks in France and Germany- the two main economies of Europe which have been very active with regard to climate change activities.
However, there is an argument that these two countries cannot afford to backpedal on their ongoing policies because of the huge investments by businesses in clean technologies and energy transition that would create jobs for them leading to a better economy at large.
