„Enough green madness”. Italy’s Meloni has three conditions for European Green Deal
Enough green madness, stated Italy’s Giorgia Meloni for the hundredth time as she outlined three conditions for her country to proceed with the European Green Deal. But Rome is not alone in a fight for changes. Will the European Union bend to the will of its people?
The green madness, or the green nonsense that Meloni wants to put an end to, is particularly damaging to—who would have guessed? – the automobile industry. The lady prime minister made it clear that Italy will not support the EU Executive’s amendment to European climate law, which aims to set a new interim target of reducing net emissions by 90% by 2040 compared to 1990 levels as a step towards the final target of 100% by 2050.
Ideological approach
The prime minister assured that Italy will continue to support an „ambitious emissions reduction path” but will no longer pursue „an ideological and therefore unreasonable approach that imposes unsustainable and unachievable targets, which damage our economic and industrial fabric, weaken European nations, and risk permanently compromising the very credibility of the European Union,” as reported by IlSole24Ore.
So, what exactly is Meloni’s plan? Foremost, she wants a „balanced system” and „favorable environment” that would lead to achievement of the environmental goals without an „irreversible damage to the European economy, done to the benefit of a growing number of strategic competitors at a global level who are delighted with the environmental madness we have imposed on ourselves and wish to continue imposing on ourselves”.
Meloni’s government demands as well the possibility of offsetting up to 5% (EU and national targets) of »international credits«, i.e. international cooperation projects to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, which the EU and Member States finance in third countries. Given that European emissions account for around 6% of global emissions, »the importance of supporting a sustainable economy in developing countries for achieving the ultimate goal cannot be overlooked,« according to Meloni.
And Italy does a lot in this area. There’s a project called „Mission 300”—it is an international strategy of improving access to electricity from the Ivory Coast to the Congo, and the Ascent initiative in Tanzania and Mozambique for expanding access to energy from renewable sources.
Electrification alone is not an option
The second condition of Rome is the full application of the principle of technological neutrality throughout EU climate legislation, starting with regulations concerning the automotive sector and heavy industry, »where there is a technical limit to the transition and energy integration issues must also be considered.«
Meloni reiterated that for the future of the automotive, heavy transport, steel, glass, and cement industries, electrification alone is not an option and that we must remain open to all solutions, such as sustainable biofuels, which »must also be allowed after 2035«.
The third issue raised by the Prime Minister concerns funding: »No transformation is truly possible without allocating adequate resources.« Meloni points to the new multiannual financial framework, considered a key test for progress towards an EU capital markets union, which is intended to encourage the »necessary« private investment needed to complement public investment.
Call for competitiveness
Some of the above requests are common for some of the other EU countries. There aren’t truly many of them that have no reservations towards the European Green Deal.
And why is that so? Most probably Europe feels that it loses ground and sees all the evident threats: China’s dominance, US« precariousness, and the Old Continent’s deep dependencies on the other players« beck and call. It is seen in France, it is seen in Poland, it is seen even in Germany, which is very much concerned about the automotive sector« competitiveness, just like Italy.
Meloni’s request to Brussels is clear: abandon the black and white vision of the Green Deal and take under consideration the one and only economic signpost, competitiveness exactly. But we must admit that whenever we look at the multifaceted landscape of European politics, there is always someone who will not be satisfied with the EU’s choices. Maybe there is even more of the unsatisfied than the satisfied ones. And that’s the block’s competitiveness problem.
