Ciaran Black – The EU Green Deal and also the Push for Sustainable Ag
Ciaran Black – The EU Green Deal and also the Push for Sustainable Ag
The European Union Green Deal is an ambitious decide to help Europe become the 1st carbon-neutral continent by the year 2050. Ciaran Black is actually an independent strategy and innovation consultant which discusses how farmers are adapting in order to eliminate the emission of greenhouse gases, what sort of new business opportunities are arising as a result of the consumer demand for product sustainability as well as what the global implications are for more food production sustainability. Goals of the EU Green Deal The EU Green Deal is actually a very ambitious plan to become the primary continent within the world to become carbon neutral by 2050. What it truly tries to do is decouple economic growth with a move toward greater sustainability. The target of change recently that is carbon neutrality in order to make it a much higher level this 2050. In the last 20 to 25 years or so, we’ve seen about a 25% reduction in emissions in Europe. However along that period of time there was also about 60 percent growth within the economy, therefore the view is that economic prosperity as well as sustainability can actually go hand in hand. But the change here, really, is that the ambition of the target is way higher. So, within the next 10 years to 2030, we’re looking to move from around a 25% reduction up to 55% reduction and so on so forth toward full neutrality by the year 2050. Hence, we’re really seeing a radical transformation of the economy and society.
What would be the consequences of inaction? Is there a sense of urgency?
Yes, there certainly is. Most people and most countries recognize that global climate change, you know, is actually a huge challenge for the world, and it must be addressed. Thus, it’s not just Europe that’s pushing toward this level of ambition. We’ve recently seen China commit to climate neutrality by 2060, and as everyone knows, President Biden already has signed back up to the Paris Agreement. So, we think we’ll see new targets on the way from the U.S. as well. In the private sector, companies such as Microsoft, Amazon and Unilever are all setting themselves big targets in this specific regard. The consequences of inaction are, on the one hand, trying to address really important questions for the world, however also, there’s a competitive situation, whereby, if it’s inevitable that countries are aiming to be going in this direction, then delaying isn’t a good strategy. There are huge opportunities — if you take the 1st move and then start to develop new technologies and new approaches that will help meet those targets, then you’re in a much stronger position.
What is happening? How is farming actually adapting to eliminate the emission of greenhouse gas?
Well, in Europe the way it works is vast and the european Commission assessed these lofty ambitions for 2030 and for 2050, and then, each country, each member state, has got to develop its own strategic plan in reference to agriculture. It’s called the CAP, the Common Agricultural Policy. It develops its own strategic plan about how it’ll transition to that objective. So, it implies that each country will have its own individual and tailored plan for how the state will meet those overall targets. So, it implies that the agriculture companies within each country will have different sets of targets, but all toward this common goal. Moreover, there’s a growing awareness of, how seriously Europe is actually moving toward this target and how they have to really adapt their business toward that. Therefore, every company in Europe that’s involved within the agriculture and food industry really understands that they have to adapt and are already progressing a long way toward being ready for that. Some examples of few of the new businesses that are emerging in response to the Green Deal? it is still in the early stages, but in general, virtually all the new startups in the sector all have some kind of sustainability play. It is right across the crops as well as livestock sectors, so we’re seeing that right across the board. There’s a true mindset shift toward including sustainability in every decision that companies are making. So, which means that they’re really stitching sustainability into the worth propositions that they’re developing. We’re seeing the phase of that actually gathering now, is people be can clearer and clearer about what they have to do to be able to meet these targets. Is it relevant or important to the success of the EU Green Deal that, under President Biden, the us has now re-entered the Paris Climate Accord? Yes, it is very important. A broader coalition between major political powers and continents is going to be a very vital aspect of meeting the global challenge of climate change. In fact, a key component of the Green Deal strategy is what they call Green Deal Diplomacy, which is to try and obtain all major powers to assist and support the drive toward greater sustainability, so that we can, simply meet those targets. Moreover, a key ally is having the U.S. be part of the Paris Climate Accord is going to be essential for Europe, so that they’ll move forward together to fulfill the targets, instead of having a more risky situation of playing this alone.