EU implements The European Green Deal
Faced with the imperative of climate change, the EU implemented The European Green Deal on 11 December 2019. The deal sets out plans to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 with new legally binding measures on businesses and imposition of a price on carbon emissions. This is an extremely positive strategy as it aims to implement circular economy principles, sustainable utilization of available resources that allow human activity to be regulated in line with the planet’s needs.
The European Green Deal covers all sectors of the economy, notably:
- Transport,
- Energy,
- Agriculture,
- Fisheries,
- Forestry,
- Buildings, and
- Industries (steel, cement, ICT, textiles and chemicals with a special focus on single use plastics).
Both public and private efforts are necessary. The deal recognises that the ecological transition will reshape geopolitics, including global economic, trade and security interests. This will create challenges for a number of states and will require reskilling.
The EU Commission has put forward a comprehensive roadmap to achieve a variety of objectives. While some actions are expected to be taken well into 2021, mechanisms such as the Just Transition Mechanism and a Sustainable Europe Investment Plan will be coming as soon as January 2020. The process is expected to be assisted by digitalisation and financial services. Funds are expected to be channeled through green investment bonds issued by Europe’s public investment banks. This will massively alter the current system as we know it, as huge projects are expected to emerge and reorganise the infrastructure as we currently experience it.
Anaerobic digestion is ready to deliver its potential to contribute to EU’s environmental objectives. Not only does it cut emissions in the transport and energy sectors, but it will also be able to contribute to the biodiversity objectives, agriculture and the construction sector. Either directly or indirectly this policy is very relevant to the Anaerobic Digestion industry. It will define specific activities for which AD delivers a clear solution.
