How to keep the European Green Deal on track?

As an entity contributing to the implementation of the EU’s ambitious climate and green mobility objectives, we look with interest at the scholarly contributions shaping the debate around the European Green Deal.

In one of the latest publications of think-tank Bruegel, aptly titled “An investment strategy to keep the European Green Deal on track,” Jean Pisani-Ferry and Simone Tagliapietra assess the investment needed to achieve the Union’s 2030 and 2050 climate targets. Their analysis focuses on the potential over- or underestimation of current investment estimates, the role of the private and public sectors in making investment happen, the challenges to reaching the necessary investment levels in the next five years, and possible measures to overcome them.

What about transport? The analysts’ key messages are that the lion’s share of green investments in the transport sector will concern the automotive sector and that most of the investments for transport decarbonisation will come from public funding.

Public funding should be channelled towards:

• R&D support and support for early adoption of innovative clean technologies
• Financing electricity and transport infrastructure, particularly railway networks
• Provision of financial de-risking tools to lower the cost of capital for private investors in green projects
• Provision of direct financial support and compensation to the most vulnerable to ensure a socially fair transition

What challenges lie ahead?

• The main source of EU grants for the green transition is running out
• The reformed EU fiscal framework is not conducive to green investment
• False narratives on climate policies are increasingly promoted
• The trade-offs between decarbonisation, competitiveness and security are increasingly difficult
• The return of President Trump further exacerbates the problem

Curious to know how they think Europe could tackle them? To read the paper and discover all proposals, click here.