How Green Is Your Deal?

The 2024 European elections announced the start of a new European policy cycle, as not only a new European Parliament was elected but also a new European Commission term started. On the heels of far-right successes in EU Member States elections, citizens elected a more rightwing European Parliament. Furthermore, even though von der Leyen will stay on as Commission President, changes in her Commission structure and political guidelines could indicate a move away from climate change as the top priority.

Jeff Rosamond, a postdoctoral researcher at Ghent University, joins us for this episode to help us understand the elections and their possible impact on climate policy.

This will be the final episode (for now). To stay up to date on further developments, you can follow the host Jana Gheuens on Bluesky or Linkedin, or you can sign up for the GreenDeal-NET newsletter.

Music: ‘Lazy Walk’ by Cheel.

Oceans are at the forefront of climate change. As the biggest carbon sink, they play an important role in absorbing greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere. However, this absorption also heats up the ocean and results in ocean acidification, with significant negative consequences for marine ecosystems and the people who depend on them for their livelihood. At the same time, it has also become one of the prime locations for renewable energy generation.

In this episode, Froukje Maria Platjouw and Judith van Leeuwen, marine governance experts, share their insights on how the EU governs its oceans and seas, how it features into the European Green Deal, and the challenges sustainable marine governance faces.

For more information on their Horizon Europe research projects, which study how to navigate the complexity of EU marine governance under the European Green Deal to develop a coherent and integrated EU ocean policy framework, you can go here: CrossGov and PERMAGOV.

Music: ‘Lazy Walk’ by Cheel.

While climate change impacts everyone, some communities are disproportionally affected over others. Therefore, climate movements have put focus on the concept of ‘intersectionality’ in their fight against climate change. Clear examples of this are the chant of ‘Climate Justice is Racial Justice’ that gained traction during the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, and the explicit connection between climate action and support for Palestine during Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza. However, the latter also showed that there can be internal contention in climate movements as some argue to separate broader politics from addressing climate change.

Eugene Nulman and Daniela Chironi share their insights on this topic in this episode to help us understand how climate change and intersectionality are linked, and what it means for climate movements.

Music: ‘Lazy Walk’ by Cheel.

Scientists argue that we are entering a sixth mass extinction event as biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate. In contrast to prior mass extinction events caused by natural phenomena, this extinction event is the result of human activity leading to climate change or habitat degradation.

Simon Happersberger, researcher at the Brussels School of Governance working on sustainable trade, joins us today to discuss the linkages between biodiversity and economic policy and trade.

The EU’s transition to climate neutrality requires significant efforts from all economic sectors. A key requirement for sectors to move to more sustainable practices is the availability of alternative climate-friendly technologies. Developing these requires innovation and strong investments. How do you create the right conditions for innovation to flourish? What can be improved from our current circumstances? 

To help us better understand the role of innovation in industry decarbonization, we are joined by Viktor Salenius, a researcher at Oxford University who works on innovation and the green transition in energy-intensive industries. 

Music: ‘Lazy Walk’ by Cheel. 

The EU has a long history of formulating climate policies resulting in the European Green Deal. What are some of the trends that have emerged over the last 30 years and does the Green Deal break away from them? What can they tell us about the future of EU climate policy?

 In this episode, Claire Dupont shares her insights on the past, present and future of climate governance.

You can read the GreenDeal-NET state-of-the-art review ‘Three decades of EU climate policy: Racing toward climate neutrality?’ lead-authored by Claire to delve deeper into this topic.

Music: ‘Lazy Walk’ by Cheel.

Greta Thunberg and the climate youth ignited a wave of climate activism in the EU. People took to the streets in mass protests, and groups like Extinction Rebellion started to use some more disruptive tactics. How can we understand these types of activism and what has been their impact on EU climate policy? 

Louisa Parks joins us in this episode to share her insights on climate activism in the EU and the direct and indirect effects it has had. 

To learn more about this topic, you can read the GreenDeal-NET policy options paper on ‘Contemporary Climate Activism and EU Climate Policy'.

Carbon pricing has been at the heart of EU climate and energy policy since the very beginning with the development of the EU Emission Trading System (EU ETS). As part of the European Green Deal, the EU has expanded the EU ETS to include new sectors and has set up a scheme to price carbon at an international level. How do these instruments work and what are their social implications?

To help us answer these questions, we are joined by Peter Vis, a renowned expert with many years of experience on the matter. 

Music: ‘Lazy Walk’ by Cheel.

Hydrogen is often portrayed as the fuel for the future and it seems to be the solution to every aspect of the climate crisis. But what is hydrogen and can it live up to its promises? 

Marie Dejonghe, researcher at Ghent University, joins us in this episode to answer these questions and more. Together, we explore what makes hydrogen sustainable and how it can feature in the EU’s green transition.

We often hear that a mere 100 companies are accountable for approximately 70% of global emissions. But what does this responsibility truly mean, and how can corporations be held accountable for their environmental impact?

In this episode, Annalisa Savaresi, expert on International Environmental Law at the University of Eastern Finland, shares her insights on the role of corporations in climate change, how they can be held accountable and what the role of climate litigation can be.

If you want to learn more about this topic, Annalisa recently published an article on the topic in Regulation and Governance, co-authored with Mikko Rajavuori and Harro van Asselt. They have also written a blog post based on the article.

Music: ‘Lazy Walk’ by Cheel.

In today's increasingly complex world, addressing the urgent issue of climate change requires collaboration across different levels of governance and diverse actors. Climate intermediaries take up the important role of connecting these levels and/or actors with each other to inspire more climate action.

In this episode, Paul Tobin and Zarina Ahmad join us to delve deep into the concept of climate intermediaries with a specific focus on how faith and sustainability can be linked. They also share their insights on the barriers Muslim actors face and on how to make sure their voices are heard.

If you are interested in this topic, you can read their article ‘“The religions are engaging: tick, well done”: the invisibilization and instrumentalization of Muslim climate intermediaries’, co-authored by Nafhesa Ali and Sherilyn MacGregor.

Music: ‘Lazy Walk’ by Cheel. 

The European Green Deal is the EU’s growth strategy to make its economy more sustainable. Doing so will require a far-reaching transformation of society that will greatly impact European citizens’ lives and livelihoods.

In this episode, Amandine Crespy, professor at ULB, discusses the social implications of the European Green Deal, what the EU is doing to make sure the green transition leaves no one behind, and whether its efforts are sufficient. 

If you want to learn more about this topic, Amandine has recently published an article on ‘Lost in transition? Social justice and the politics of the EU green transition’ co-authored with Mario Munta.

Music: ‘Lazy Walk’ by Cheel. 

After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Europe was plunged into an energy crisis. Energy prices skyrocketed, there seemed to be a scramble for alternative energy sources, and European citizens were urged to consume less energy.  

To help us understand what caused the energy crisis, and how it impacted the EU’s climate objectives, we are joined by Marco Giuli, an expert on EU energy policy and climate policy integration (Brussels School of Governance, VUB). 

If you want to learn more about this topic, check out Marco’s articles ‘Third time lucky? Reconciling EU climate and external energy policy during energy security crises’, co-authored with Sebastian Oberthür in the Journal of European Integration, and 'Assessing the EU’s Evolving Position in Energy Geopolitics under Decarbonisation’, also co-authored with Sebastian Oberthür in the International Spectator. 

Music: ‘Lazy Walk’ by Cheel. 

In recent years, climate and environmental activism have received a lot of attention due to the likes of Greta Thunberg and the climate youth strikes. However, depending on the political and socio-economic context, environmental movements can materialize in different ways and fulfil varying roles in society.

 In this episode, Aron Buzogány (assistant professor at BOKU) and Szabina Kerényi (researcher at the Centre for Social Sciences) join us to discuss their research on environmental movements in Central and Eastern Europe and their relationship to democratic evolutions. How did environmental movements in the region come into being? Can they act as a force against democratic backsliding?

Traditionally, the climate debate has been dominated by climate mitigation – efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, as the impacts of climate change are becoming more visible around the globe, climate adaptation – measures to adapt to climate impacts – is getting more and more attention.

Lisanne Groen (assistant professor at the Open Universiteit) joins us in this episode to talk about her research on climate adaptation. What is climate adaptation? What are some of the barriers to it?

If you would like to learn more about Lisanne’s work, you can go to https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13501763.2022.2064535, to read the article ‘Re-examining policy stability in climate adaptation through a lock-in perspective’ by Lisanne Groen, Meghan Alexander, Julie P. King, Nicolas W. Jager and Dave Huitema, published in Journal of European Public Policy.

Music: ‘Lazy Walk’ by Cheel.

In 2019, the European Commission launched the European Green Deal – its strategy to transform the EU into a low-carbon society. To do so, it proposed a wide range of measures that focus not only on reducing emissions, but also on restoring nature and making sure that no one is left behind.

In this episode of ‘How Green Deal?’, Sebastian Oberthür (professor at the VUB, and UEF) helps us make sense of the all-encompassing European Green Deal. What are the EU's objectives? And how is it planning on reaching them?

Music: ‘Lazy Walk’ by Cheel.