I was delighted to read a joint article by ministers from ten EU countries calling for the Green New Deal to be part of the coronavirus recovery plan. As they said in Climate Change News:
The world is facing an unprecedented crisis. In just a few weeks, the Covid-19 pandemic has swept across the world and caused tremendous human tragedy and a historical economic setback of which we still do not know the full impact.
Our societies have shut down, borders are closed, unemployment is on the rise and companies are struggling.
The focus is presently on fighting the pandemic and its immediate consequences.
We should, however, begin to prepare ourselves to rebuild our economy and to introduce the necessary recovery plans to bring renewed, sustainable progress and prosperity back to Europe and its citizens.
The rest is available to read by following the link, but as they concluded:
We need to send a strong political signal to the world and our citizens that the EU will lead by example even in difficult times like the present and blaze the trail to climate neutrality and the fulfilment of the Paris Agreement.
In the same vein, urgent action to protect and conserve biodiversity must be a key part of our response to the global health and environmental crisis and a key aspect to ensure the long-term survival and well-being of our societies.
Leonore Gewessler Federal Minister for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology of Austria
Dan Jørgensen Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities of Denmark
Krista Mikkonen Minister of the Environment and Climate Change of Finland
Sergio Costa Minister of Environment, Land and Sea of Italy
Juris PÅ«ce Minister for Environmental Protection and Regional Development of the Republic of Latvia
Carole Dieschbourg Minister for the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development of Luxembourg
Eric Wiebes Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy of the Netherlands
João Pedro Soeiro de Matos Fernandes Minister for Environment and Climate Action of Portugal
Teresa Ribera RodrÃguez Fourth Vice-President of the Government and Minister for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge of Spain
Isabella Lövin Minister for Environment and Climate, and Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden
Élisabeth Borne Minister for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition of France
Svenja Schulze, Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety of Germany
Kostas Hatzidakis, Minister of Environment and Energy, Greece
Updated on 11/04/20 to add Germany and Greece as signatories and on 10/04/20 to add France
The UK is, of course, absent and far from the action. But we can live in hope that someone here might take note.
Thanks for reading this post.
You can share this post on social media of your choice by clicking these icons:
You can subscribe to this blog's daily email here.
And if you would like to support this blog you can, here:
Patience and attrition rewarded, even if it does take a global pandemic to prompt action. However fat chance of the UK signing up to anything recommended by the EU. The government’s ego would inhibit any such rationality.