Debate: Delivering on the Green Deal: risk of compromising the EU path to the green transition and its international commitments
Date: WEDNESDAY, 12 JULY 2023
Speaker: Frans Timmermans
Language: EN

Climate change and biodiversity loss are existential threats. Our future, our health, our wealth and our security depend on nature. Our efforts to fight the climate crisis depend on nature. It is very simple: resilient soils absorb more carbon. Leafy trees provide natural air—conditioning to increasingly hot cities. Healthy nature retains more water during droughts. Last week, we experienced the four hottest days ever recorded. Time is running out to fix the mess that has been created on our planet. This is why your vote on the Nature Restoration Law today is so crucial. It will set the EU on a path to restore nature, a path to make nature our ally in our efforts to tackle climate change and to show our international partners, those in COP 28, as well as in COP 15, that Europe means business and that we mean to lead. Getting where we need to be will still require a tremendous amount of work and political courage, but I am confident that we will succeed, because together we have already achieved a number of huge successes in the Green Deal. This is clearly evident in our climate policies already, where we’re catapulting Europe ahead of other major emitters and leading global climate action and doing this in a way that is good for our economy. Getting Fit for 55 adopted, getting RePowerEU over the line, cutting back on Russian fossil fuels, saving energy, expanding renewables, putting cleaner cars on our roads and getting it all done in the time we did, while there is a war on our continent, has been a remarkable feat. And I really, really want to thank Parliament for making it possible. We’ve likewise made great progress on the circular economy, clearly illustrated by your vote this morning to make all products on the European market sustainable. And through our international cooperation and our diplomatic outreach, we took our international partners along. The United States has returned to the Paris Agreement and is fast transforming its economy. And we have to be sure that they don’t overtake us! Thanks to our strong push and leadership, the world agreed on the most ambitious global biodiversity agreement at Kunming—Montreal last year. And I want to thank the Members of Parliament who took part in the deliberations. We are paving the way to halt deforestation. We are working with new partners in Africa, Asia and Latin America, and we are exporting our knowledge of carbon—pricing to help others drive down their emissions faster than before. So why did we achieve so much? Because of the core of our work. Over these past three years there has been an understanding that the green transition is not a ‘left’ or a ‘right’ issue, that it is not an issue of political ideology, but a matter of science, of survival, of societal well-being. It has been the case since the start of this mandate back in 2019. We set out with a clear sense of purpose and shared vision: Europe would become the first climate—neutral continent with the Green Deal as its roadmap. This vision – for a fair, green, healthy and competitive future – still stands strong today. Our success stories have shown businesses in Europe that we can deliver them certainty, stability and prospects for growth and profit in a green economy. We have shown young Europeans increasingly anxious about their futures that we will take the responsibility. We want to be good ancestors. Yes, of course we can be proud of what we’ve achieved, but the work is far from done. Now that this House has come to a majority position on the Nature Restoration Law, we can move forward with the negotiations with Council. The Commission stands ready to support the co-legislators and come to a swift agreement. But let me take a moment to acknowledge an important part of our democratic process in Europe. Majority rule does not mean that you ignore the minority view. I have listened to every voice in this debate for the past months. I may have challenged the political consequences that some have drawn, but I have never questioned the sentiment that is felt by farmers, fishers and foresters by our citizens and in our cities. They have many legitimate questions and concerns and they cannot be expected to make this transition alone. That is the next step for the Green Deal, I believe: to reassure, to support, to guide, to facilitate the transition. We have set our sights on the horizon. We know where we need to go, but we also know that there will be obstacles to negotiate along the way. We must ensure that our policies, our support instruments and our financial resources match the challenge. That is the next step we must take together: to move from green targets to green tools. We cannot afford to lose political momentum or to lose different parts of society along the way. We cannot afford to go from consensus to conflict on tackling climate change. There is no time to start from scratch and try again. We all need to negotiate and compromise to keep moving forward, step by step. Time is of the essence. We need the Nature Restoration Law as much as we need the Climate Law. The European Green Deal is a comprehensive package, one plan for the one planet that we call home. As responsible politicians, we have to face the facts: planetary boundaries are defined, and we cannot ensure a liveable planet without restoring nature. So I’ll say it again: we have the responsibility to be good ancestors. We have the responsibility. Yes, of course we’re all looking at the next election. But more importantly, we should all be looking at the next generation. If we look at the next generation and make plans for them, then I believe the next election will be less of a problem.