Dear President Von Der Leyen,
Dear Executive Vice President Šefcovic
Dear Commissioner designated Hoekstra
Ahead of the parliament hearings of Executive Vice President designate Šefcovic and Commissioner designate Hoekstra, the S&D group has formulated some expectations regarding the Green Deal for the rest of the mandate. Please find below some of the elements we consider indispensable to make the Green Deal a success and maintain Europe’s status as a climate leader:
1. A Social Green Deal and a Just Transition for all:
The aftershocks of the Covid-19 crisis, together with the effects of Putin’s war of aggression on Ukraine, have led to social distress all over Europe. High inflation and rising energy bills continue to outpace wage growth. While the growth of renewables has made a dent into our dependency on fossil fuels, people are still suffering. With the Social Climate Fund, the EU for the first time decided on a dedicated redistributive social policy tool that will support vulnerable citizens in the transition towards a decarbonised EU. However, the funds size is relatively limited and can only be a start. We need Commissioners who commit to continue to implement redistributive policies that support financial solidarity between and within member states and regions.
2. Fair and scientifically justified intermediate targets up to 2050
The recommendation of the ESABCC show a clear pathway for climate neutrality in the EU by 2050. To enable that pathway however, ambitious intermediate targets are required beyond the -55% reduction of emissions currently agreed for 2030. To keep the EU on track for our shared climate neutrality objective we must commit listen to the science and base the Commission’s scenario analysis on the ESABCC range - otherwise we are implicitly making bets on unproven technologies to get us of an otherwise unsolvable challenge in the decade of 2040-2050.
3. Stepping up our Industrial Policy with a true Sovereignty Fund:
With NZIA and STEP, the Commission so far has proposed mainly regulatory facilitation tools to build up green industries in Europe, with only about 10 € billion in fresh funds actually being committed rather than reallocations away from existing programmes. To keep up with our competitors around the globe and counteract the potential fragmentation of the single market due the differences in the availability of state aid, what is needed, from the Commission is a proposal for a true sovereignty fund, based on the model of common borrowing used in Next Generation EU.
4. Defending the Green Deal
From biodiversity to air pollution and industrial emissions: In the last months, the Right has repeatedly demonstrated that corporate profits are more important to them than the health and well-being of Europe’s citizens and its environment. The Commission has to resist the temptation of separating its fight against climate change from the rapid loss of biodiversity - the two are inextricably linked. Furthermore, the Commission has finished what it has started and match up the missing puzzle pieces of the Green Deal, such as the Forest Monitoring Law and Animal Welfare Legislation.
5. A successful COP28
COP28 is a key turning point for our international climate ambitions. The conclusions drawn from the first ever Global Stocktake will set the guidelines for the next round of NDCs in this crucial decade of action. In order to be effective, the EU delegation will need to be able to make reliable long-term commitments on the loss and damage fund, which should compensate the poorest countries for the disproportionate amount of damages and havoc resulting from the climate crisis, to which they have contributed very little. EU resources for this fund must be additional, either stemming from the MFF review or from new own resources for the EU.
We are looking forward to hearing your positions on these items in the hearings and will take due account of them when considering our vote on your candidatures.
With kind regards,
Iratxe García Pérez
President S&D
Mohammed Chahim
S&D Vice President
Tiemo Wölken
S&D ENVI Coordinator
