天美传媒

While there is growing global consensus that global warming must be stopped, exactly how to accomplish that remains the subject of much debate, even in places where there is the political will to do so.

Within the context of the European Commission recently setting the goal for the continent to become climate neutral by 2050, leading industry officials, policymakers and academics met on 天美传媒鈥檚 Madrid campus to celebrate the .

Under the academic direction of 天美传媒 professor Juan Luis L贸pez Cardenete, the event counted on the participation of Valvanera Ulargui, managing director of the Oficina 贰蝉辫补帽辞濒a de Cambio Clim谩tico; Riccardo Puliti, senior director of energy and extractive industries at the World Bank; Carlos Sall茅, Iberdrola鈥檚 director of energy policy and climate change; Ana Palacio, Spain鈥檚 former foreign minister; Francisco Rodr铆guez L贸pez, Viesgo鈥檚 managing director of generation and regulatory affairs; and Ana Quelhas, head of corporate energy planning at EDP Renov谩veis, among others.

During the event, four key weaknesses of Europe鈥檚 new strategy on sustainability were pinpointed.

1. Lack of details. The first weak point, according to Quelhas, is that 鈥�we still don鈥檛 know how the emissions targets will be achieved.鈥� In other words, companies need more specifics about the political instruments that are going to be used. If they aren鈥檛 given all the details, they won鈥檛 be able to adapt to this new context in time. And consequently, the objectives marked by Brussels will either remain unfulfilled or they鈥檒l destroy more jobs and businesses than is necessary.
2. Lack of consensus. The second weak point is that the European unity is flagging at the moment. 鈥淢ember states and their particular interests are carrying much more weight than institutions and European priorities when it comes to the bigger issues of the Community,鈥� Palacio said. Thus far, she added, this has made it impossible to reach an agreement concerning an EU-wide energy alliance. Identifying which specific instruments will be key in the fight against climate change requires reaching a consensus, which in today鈥檚 EU is far from easy.
3. Lack of uniformity. The third weak point is also largely related to reaching consensus, but is linked to different development levels. Puliti said that 鈥渁ccess to energy in developed and emerging countries are two very different stories.鈥� Consequently, there is no universal, common agreement when it comes to the specific steps that must be taken to drastically reduce pollution and emissions, while still preserving the right of many societies, such as those in Africa, to prosper and industrialize. Related to this fact, Palacio clarified that 鈥渋n Europe, we assume that others will follow our lead and policies to fight climate change, and I personally doubt this.鈥� This uncertainty plays an important role when it comes to the actions Brussels wants to launch because other countries might consider them protectionist in nature and retaliate. Ultimately, the EU鈥檚 efforts are doomed to failure if others don鈥檛 follow suit because the Community represents, not counting the United Kingdom, of the global CO2 emissions.
4. Lack of awareness. The fourth weak point of the EU鈥檚 fight against global warming comes down to population awareness, where ultimately the plight鈥檚 legitimacy and support stand when it comes to the drastic measures the EU is trying to promote. Several speakers mentioned the recent failure of French President Emmanuel Macron in his attempt to tax diesel and gasoline with tariffs that would penalize them for their CO2 emissions. The yellow-vest protestors, which counted on significant support among civil society stakeholders, managed to suspend the taxes.

In addition, Rodr铆guez L贸pez affirmed that 鈥渢here is a lack of alignment between the requisites of these demanding public policies and the population鈥檚 efforts to reduce emissions and their response when affected by them.鈥� And Sall茅 added that it is necessary to explain more clearly and more often the 鈥渘egative externalities of pollution, such as poor air quality鈥� or the fact that they destroy thousands of human lives throughout the world.

To conclude, Ulargui acknowledged that social justice is crucial to the success of the ecological transition and that, for this reason, 鈥渨e must put the individual citizen at the center of the question. Either efforts and benefits are shared equally, or reforms will be watered down and goals not be achieved on time.鈥�