Cities, Industries & The European Green Deal
Launched in December 2019 by the European Commission, the European Green Deal introduced a number of sustainability goals and measures with the aim of making Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. It includes initiatives that involve cities in the transition to a greener society, while also establishing and supporting city leaders and authorities to ensure the success of this transition.
Needless to say, this is a monumental pillar of Europe’s sustainability strategy which naturally extends beyond the influence of cities - but it also means that the role of cities is intrinsically linked to other pieces in the puzzle.
Just recently, as part of the European Green Deal, the Commission announced an update to the Industrial Emissions Directive that aims to prevent and control pollution - a key global issue that particularly affects larger urban communities. The Directive includes a set of rules that will cover more effective permits for installations, supporting the industry’s circular economy investments and synergies between depollution and decarbonization. Perhaps most importantly, it puts innovation stage-centre by offering support to EU frontrunners in this field, while allowing Member States a stipulated 18 months to transform these rules into national legislation - a challenging race against the clock.
In both this blog and on my LinkedIn page, I’ve discussed some of the initiatives within the European Green deal at length, however mostly focussing on the role of cities. But the Industrial Emissions Directive goes on to show that matching urban and industrial rules and regulations, when it comes to sustainability and resilience, needs to be addressed as a top priority. And our responsibility starts at a local level.
That’s where the Green Deal Going Local mission comes into place. With cities at the heart of modern living, they must act as a catalyst in the transition towards more sustainable environments and healthier, greener living. And along with this mission, which aims to inspire and accelerate the clean energy transition within cities, the Industrial Emissions Directive plays a major role in matching goals with the big players on that side of the picture.
Carbon emissions is a common target across both initiatives, and their approaches also share common tonalities; but one we perhaps need to take a closer look at is the end goal of transforming the EU into a source-efficient and competitive green economy. That, in itself, creates a thriving ecosystem of new ideas that has the power to put Europe at the forefront of the world’s new, and more sustainable, ways of living.
Let’s become that shining example.
