Date: 12 March
The webinar was a launch presentation of the findings of the Citizens’ Observatory’s latest report on Green Deal Financing – Beyond profit: how to reshape the European Green Deal for peoples’ well-being – which analyses key EU funding mechanisms such as the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) and InvestEU.
With civil society representatives and the Co-President of the Greens in the European Parliament as speakers, the discussion focused on the report’s findings, in particular the significant shortcomings in the strategic priorities and implementation of the EU’s investment strategy.
During the hour-long discussion, several key themes emerged:
- Green technologies. The discussion focused on the importance and complexity of green technologies and the need to integrate them into broader societal frameworks. Using the Swedish case study of Northvolt, speakers highlighted the need for a holistic approach that goes beyond technological advances and called for a strategy for an ambitious agreement that respects the limits of the planet.
- Limited interest in public social investment. While initiatives such as the EU Green Deal and NextGenerationEU were praised for their potential, concerns were raised about the lack of a coherent strategy and the need for increased public investment. Participants stressed the importance of addressing societal needs such as housing, energy and transport by providing access and long-term availability to communities. For this reason, speakers agreed on the need for EU institutions to step up their efforts and translate their ambitions into action. Among the possible solutions, the role of wealth taxes and climate legacy taxes in financing environmental solutions was discussed, and the importance of redistributive measures to provide the resources needed for transformative change was underlined.
- Risks of latest financing trends. Attention was also drawn to the risks associated with financial instruments that could support the securitisation of our societies and the financialisation of nature, a warning voiced by several speakers.
Panellists took turns answering two different questions from the moderator and the audience – the 79 participants from 16 EU countries were very active in the exchange.
Overall, the event underlined the interconnectedness of environmental, social and economic factors in the implementation of projects such as the European Green Deal, which aim to pave the way for a truly equitable transformation that leaves no one behind.
A recording of the discussion can be accessed here.
