Abstract
The European Green Deal announced by the European Commission in December 2019 is a roadmap meant to foster the transition of the European Union towards the climate-neutral economy by reducing carbon emissions towards 55% by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. By putting the EGD in a boarder perspective of evolving, constitutional rationale of environmental protection in the EU legal order, this contribution examines horizontal, legal dimension and financial implications of the green transition. The challenge ahead of the Union is now how to transform the ambitious climate agenda into efficient legal and economic instruments ‘in a fair way, leaving no one behind’. This paper argues that EGD is a great opportunity, but in order to turn it into a success, it must be strongly anchored in the concepts pertaining to the constitutional framework of the EU legal order, in particular, the concepts of solidarity, sustainable development and high level of environmental protection.
Highlights
In April 2020, on the 50th anniversary of the Earth Day, the New York Times has published a list of inspiring books unwrapping the concept of a climate change, among which scientific, fantasy and fiction.1 Yet, in case of the climate change, fiction is surprisingly becoming reality
The European Green Deal announced by the European Commission in December 2019 is a roadmap meant to foster the transition of the European Union towards the climate-neutral economy by reducing carbon emissions towards 55% by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050
This paper argues that European Green Deal (EGD) is a great opportunity, but in order to turn it into a success, it must be strongly anchored in the concepts pertaining to the constitutional framework of the European Union (EU) legal order, in particular, the concepts of solidarity, sustainable development and high level of environmental protection
Summary
In April 2020, on the 50th anniversary of the Earth Day, the New York Times has published a list of inspiring books unwrapping the concept of a climate change, among which scientific, fantasy and fiction. Yet, in case of the climate change, fiction is surprisingly becoming reality. “today, climate change and the Holocene extinction have emerged as the issues requiring urgent action in order to save our planet.”6 Against this background, the European Green Deal (EGD) announced by the European Commission (Commission) in December 20197 amounts to an unprecedented attempt at the level of the Union to foster the transition towards the common goal of a climate-neutral economy by reducing carbon emissions by at least 50% by 2030 (and towards 55%) and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. EGD is rightly viewed as an opportunity for a change of a horizontal regulatory framework based on effective and efficient instruments both in a long and in a short term.10 This opportunity arises from a number of legal developments and political commitments which have made the climate law a part of the EU legal order, as formally heralded in the Lisbon treaty 11 following substantive steps of international law such as Paris Agreement, UN 2030 Agenda and the sustainable developments goals..
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