“The European green deal is something we owe to our children because we do not own this planet.” These words date back to a few days before Christmas 2019. They defined Ursula Von Der Leyen’s first presidency of the European Commission but belong to what now seems like a different era.
Now, six years later, after the COVID-19 pandemic and one (still ongoing) war in Europe, what is left of the European green deal? How can we fix what does remain of it? And why are European voters suffering “climate fatigue” if climate change is accelerating? These are some of the questions that a forthcoming conference in Venice will try to address.
Acting to ensure the planet is habitable for our children is undoubtedly a moral imperative. However, for the EU it is one that requires at least two distinct (albeit connected) strategies.
