So, here is the leaked draft of the European Green Deal plan that Ursula von der Leyen will present this afternoon. A thread.
(You can read it here >> politico.eu/wp-content/upl…)
(You can read it here >> politico.eu/wp-content/upl…)
1) As expected, this is a comprehensive shopping list, encompassing all elements already presented by the President in the Political Guidelines - without adding much detail. The tone of the document is prudent.
2) On carbon pricing, the tone is slightly different from previous statements, as the extension of the Emissions Trading System (ETS) to other sectors is now presented merely as a “possible extension”.
3) The proposed 'Just Transition Fund' becomes a 'Just Transition Mechanism' and part of the 'Sustainable Europe Investment Plan'. The draft does not include the €100 billion figure being discussed in Brussels. Which means the bill is still on the negotiating table.
4) The Commission is playing it safe on the 'green golden rule', which would allow green public investments to be exempted from EU fiscal rules. This issue seems likely to be watered-down by EU bureaucratic procedures. (This is what happens when Germany does not like an idea).
5) 2020 will be the year of the 'Sustainable Europe Investment Plan', the 'Just Transition Mechanism', the 'European Climate Law' (2050 climate neutrality target + new 2030 targets), and of the 'EU Industrial Policy Strategy'.
6) 2021 will be the year of many proposals to adjust the EU legislation accordingly (ETS, energy efficiency & renewable energy directives, energy taxation directive, border adjustment proposal)
7) So, the easy part of the European Green Deal is over. Now the Commission will have to translate vision into policy. Once #EUGreenDeal stops trending, the real work will start. For more on this, listen to the next episode of The Sound of Economics podcast, out this afternoon.
