Abstract

Since the 2019 European elections, the spotlight has been on climate protection. However, this strict focus obscures a broader view. Sustainability has three dimensions, all of which are of equal value. Thus, realising sustainability requires holistic action and a forward-looking approach. Sustainability also has the potential to be the driver behind economic modernisation and innovation. To tap into its real potential, what is needed is, instead of the apocalyptic global warming rhetoric of a self-fulfilling prophecy, a sound vision that unites ecological sustainability, economic performance and social justice. Given the European People’s Party’s comprehensive views on politics and society, the party is predestined to take the lead in the debate about a sustainable EU. Among Germany’s Christian Democrats, a renewed positioning around this topic has recently begun.

Highlights

  • Since the 2019 European elections, the spotlight has been on climate protection

  • Europeans must deliver! That said, the strict focus on climate protection is obscuring our view of the real issue: sustainability! Taking this into consideration, it is worth taking a look at the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (UN 2015), which refers to sustainability in three respects

  • The UN warns that unless we see improved performance from the G20, whose members account for two-thirds of the world’s population and are responsible for 75% of global CO2 emissions, the agenda will be doomed to failure (Rat Für Nachhaltige Entwicklung 2017)

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Summary

Introduction

Transforming Our World focuses on creating a globally efficient economy with technological progress that works in harmony with the environment and is socially compatible. This triad of the economy, environment and society has distinguished the politics of the European People’s Party (EPP) since day one. Given the economic and demographic rise of Asia, the use of renewable energy technologies, the creation of international partnerships and the introduction of smart regulations to level the playing field for sustainable investments on a European and global scale will be indispensable to make the new narrative work

Sustainability reloaded
The politics of sustainability
Sustainability as a driver of innovation
Sustainability needs capital
Conclusion
Findings
Author biography
Full Text
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