Analysis
Europe’s Green Deal is still on track with car emissions and deforestation rules, for now
Other portions of the Green Deal might be less safe: the Business Ethics for Sustainability Directive and the Green Homes Directive.
On Wednesday, the day of the first meeting of the von der Leyen II “government” at the Berlaymont Palace, the anti-Green Deal strategy of the European Christian Democrats suffered a double blow, part of the political battle raging around the dismantling of Europe's ambitious environmental program.
The main protagonist was Teresa Ribera, Commissioner for the “clean transition” nominated by the Socialist government in Madrid and strongly opposed by the Spanish component of the EPP. On the eve of the first meeting of commissioners, Ribera, who also holds the portfolio of executive vice-president and is Ursula von der Leyen’s de facto second-in-command, strongly rejected the idea that there was any plan to delay the ban on the sale of diesel and gasoline cars, set to enter into effect on 2035.
“No one is considering changing the deadlines,” she said as she visited the Arcelor Mittal plant in Ghent, Belgium.
Her reassurance clashed with the previous statements of the Commission President herself. After saying she was taking personal responsibility for managing the industry's crisis, von der Leyen announced the launch of “strategic dialogue” in early 2025, which will start by listening to the automotive industry. The plan under consideration is to support green fuels and freeze penalties for automakers that fail to meet standards to achieve zero emissions as early as 2025.
Even this about-turn would be a compromise compared to the most extremist political positions already taken. For instance, that of the EPP, the largest European political family to which von der Leyen herself belongs, which will present a “position paper” on December 11 calling for canceling the ban on combustion engines from 2035.
The EPP, Europe's “white whale,” has been reduced to amplifying the pressure from Europe's powerful car industry; but the Meloni government is also playing the same game: at the EU Council, Minister Urso has proposed to bring forward the revision of the engine standard from 2026 to next year. This initiative is supported by several countries (Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania and Slovakia), but not the big players, Spain, France and Germany.
And while the EU Commission has signaled openness to alternative fuels such as e-fuels, as suggested by Berlin, it does not seem willing at the moment to approve the “technological neutrality” that Rome and its allies want so badly. Not least because the obvious goal of Italy’s strategy is to weaken the outlook for electric cars.
Another pillar of the Green Deal is on surer footing: the Deforestation regulation seems to be safe, at least for the moment. The three European legislative institutions (the Commission, Parliament and EU Council) met to establish that the measure's entry into force will be delayed by a year, as previously agreed, but there will be no changes in substance. The EPP and the right-wingers had very different plans: a few weeks ago, they voted together on substantial changes to the regulation that would have made it de facto ineffective.
Other portions of the Green Deal might be less safe: among the most advanced environmental protection laws passed by the EU and not entirely marred by compromises (as was the case with the packaging directive) are the Business Ethics for Sustainability Directive and the Green Homes Directive.
It’s hard to imagine that the EPP and the European right-wingers, who have already voted together several times, don’t already have them in their crosshairs for the next battle. Their aim remains to try to tear down the Green Deal piece by piece.
Originally published at https://ilmanifesto.it/auto-e-deforestazione-il-green-deal-ancora-resiste on 2024-12-05