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The EU Green Deal – A Plan for a Sustainable and Competitive Europe

With the "European Green Deal" the European Commission has put climate protection, ecology and sustainability at the centre of its political agenda. Through this ambitious plan, the EU is to become the global leader in the fight for climate neutrality by 2050. However, the challenges are enormous. The European economy is set to undergo a major transformation.

The European Green Deal is undoubtedly one of the largest and most important future projects in the European Union. With it, the European Commission seeks to take the front seat in the global toil for more climate protection and sustainability. The ambitious plan will induce many changes and cover numerous sectors. Above all, it aims at fundamentally transforming industry, energy supply, agriculture, transport and society in the 27 EU Member States. For example, Europe is to become the first continent to become carbon neutral by 2050. Along the way, the EU tightened its emissions targets in the short term. The EU climate law makes the transition irreversible and climate neutrality legally binding. This gives the Green Deal a concrete direction and a timetable. However, there is currently no generally accepted understanding of exactly how climate neutrality is to be defined.

Growth engine for Europe

In order to entrench the European Green Deal in the long term, a holistic political approach is needed: from trade policy, the digital agenda, research and innovation, economic and investment policy to an industrial strategy for a "clean and green economy". The international competitiveness of the European economy is to be strengthened, especially through assuming the lead in “green” technologies. There is no doubt that such a project costs a lot of money. Estimations put it at a total of one trillion euros. This is why the European Commission wants to launch an investment plan for a sustainable Europe in order to promote "green" investments, expand the recycling economy and develop and implement a zero-emissions action plan.

German industry sets the pace

German industry sees opportunities arising from the Green deal for the German market. Industry has long been committed to sustainability and is setting a good example. For decades, Germany has made a significant contribution to the increasingly efficient use of natural resources with innovative technologies and products. Local companies are constantly investing in a clean environment and in climate protection measures. German companies are world leaders in a large number of "green" technologies. And Germany is also a leader in the trade and export of domestically developed and tested environmental protection goods, accounting for around 14 percent of global trade. To meet the requirements of the Green Deal, however, industry needs long-term support at various levels.

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