Green growth for whom, how and why? The REPowerEU Plan and the inconsistencies of European Union energy policy

Abstract

The REPowerEU plan redefines the European Union (EU) energy transition agenda in response to the Russia-Ukraine war. Formally, it aims to boost green growth, defend liberal democracy, and increase Europe's energy sovereignty. Yet, the new course of EU energy policy may be paradoxically yoking the continent into raw materials dependency and lock-in investments in fossil fuel infrastructures, while partnering with other warmonger and dictatorial states. I argue that even a much-needed switch to low-carbon energy sources is not immune from the calamitous consequences of an energy transition based on the growth imperative. Building on the System of Provision approach and integrating it with insights from ecological economics and political ecology, this paper asks how, for what purpose, and on whose terms is the remarkable expansion of solar photovoltaics outlined in the REPowerEU taking place. I find that the mass of raw materials required to meet solar energy targets will increase 3-fold by 2030. This could provide 4.4–6.7 % of EU energy while occupying 5.5–8 % of urbanised spaces. It will also strengthen the dependency on Chinese refining and manufacturing, besides intensifying mining and extractive activities around the globe. The findings in this paper show that the EU economy is not de-materialising, but rather harnessing discontent around rosy narratives like “green growth”. To conclude, I argue that a truly transformative energy policy requires questioning the material foundations of ecological modernisation approaches, abandoning the growth imperative, and reorganising energy systems around sufficiency and decentralised provisioning beyond, rather than within, global capitalism.