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In this week's @RemainiacsCast, I argued that the EU needs to recapture the idealism of its founding generation - which means making climate change its top priority. Here's a short thread on why. 1/8
2. The EU was built on an alliance of idealism and self-interest: a conviction that, by working together across borders, old enemies could rebuild a Continent shattered by war, drive a new age of prosperity and make conflict "not merely unthinkable, but materially impossible".
3. It began with coal and steel: pooling these resources, it was hoped, would accelerate reconstruction, drive economies of scale and "change the destinies of those regions which have long been devoted to ... munitions of war, of which they have been the most constant victims".
4. The next step was to remove tariff barriers and create a single, integrated trading area, on the principle (attributed to the French Liberal Bastiat), that "if goods do not cross borders, armies will". It was a principle beautifully articulated by Margaret Thatcher in 1975: 
5.The point was to show that idealism & interest could go together: that, by working across borders, the material interests of economies devastated by war could be harnessed to the cause of peace & prosperity. Today we face a new menace - but the logic of partnership is the same.
6. Climate change threatens disaster for us all - but no country can tackle it alone. If you want to green the car industry, or clean up aviation, or tackle single-use plastic, you have to plan for industries that work across continents. Greenhouse gases do not respect borders.
7. We need a European Environmental Union, that can harness the power of political union to the good of the planet: that stops a race to the bottom on environmental regulation; that funds a green new deal; that helps us all benefit from Europe's wind, solar & tidal resources.
8. Europe needs a mission that can inspire & enthuse its citizens. Environmentalism needs a vehicle that can deliver practical change. Do we still have the idealism & creativity of earlier generations? We don't have long to find out - & if we fail, worse than brexit lies ahead.
