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EU Businesses Are Still at the Forefront of the Fight Against the Climate Emergency

18 September 2019, 17:15 CET

The EU was the first major economy in the world to set out a legally binding framework for ensuring that all member states in the union lived up to their climate change obligations, as stipulated under the Paris agreement.

The EU has also been at the forefront of the shift away from fossil fuels and on to renewable resources. Projects like ITER in France give us a glimpse of what the future of energy production might look like for the EU.

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What Are the EU's Goals?

The EU is aiming to transition to become a completely carbon-neutral bloc by the year 2050. All EU member states have agreed in principle that they are to seek solutions guided by actions rooted in science. Climate change is an issue of growing importance to voters throughout the EU, so it is not something that leaders can continue to be complacent about.

If the EU is going to achieve its goals, then it is going to be relying on businesses to do their part. If the only action towards a more sustainable and ecologically-friendly future is that that is mandated from the top, we are going to struggle. Ultimately, if we are going to successfully tackle climate change then we are going to need to inspire action at all levels.

Ultimately, businesses are made up of people and all people have equal motivation for wanting to stop climate change. If the global average temperature rises too high, any one of a number of runaway processes could then have cataclysmic results for the planet.

The Role of Business

Pro-climate policies are increasingly popular across the EU. As such, businesses are also beginning to see the advantages of being seen to support environmental issues. Chasing after this green dollar has become very lucrative for businesses that do it the right way, so there is definitely a financial incentive.

A cornerstone of the EU's long-term plans is their energy policy. The question of how renewable energies can be used to meet the demands of an entire continent is a complex one. Solving it will prove key to tackling the climate crisis head-on. We mentioned ITER earlier, which could ultimately provide virtually limitless clean energy to the EU. However, in the nearer term, innovations like this biogas digester will prove more important.

Citizens' SUpport

Any attempts by the EU to gauge the public temperature when it comes to climate change issues has shown that there is consistent strong support for the fight against climate change. Specifically, the EU found that 93% of Europeans consider climate change to be a "serious problem". 79% regard it as a "very serious problem".

There is a clear desire among EU citizens to see their governments do more to fight climate change. However, governments will only be successful if businesses are willing to play by the rules and meet their obligations. If everyone is working towards the same goals at all levels, we might just stand a chance.

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