Climate change and environmental degradation are an existential threat to the entire world. In order to prevent this situation, each country sets different goals and strategies. The European Union, on the other hand, aims to provide resource efficient and competitive green transformation in this field with the European Green Deal announced in 2019. The European Green Deal is a set of policy initiatives undertaken by the European Commission to achieve the European Union's goal of green economic growth.
In this context, Commission creates changes and new strategies in many areas such as
- Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)
- Circular Economy Action Plan
- European Climate Law
- European Climate Pact
- Revision of the EU Emissions Trading System
- Fair Transition Mechanism
- Revisions of Transportation and Industry Strategy Documents
- Energy Strategies
The most important points of the European Green Deal for achieving the many challenging goals are
- To be the first climate-neutral continent by 2050
- Reducing net greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels
- Planting 3 billion additional trees by 2030
Countries which have the majority of its exports to the European Union, must determine their industrial strategies in line with the Green Deal and its requirements in order to offer products to the European market. In this area, within the framework of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which directly concerns large sectors such as aluminum, cement, fertilizer, and iron and steel, manufacturers should start reporting their greenhouse gas emissions as of the last quarter of 2023, create reduction plans, and countries should adopt an emission trading system in line with the EU Emissions Trading System.
The European Green Deal is one of the biggest policies created in recent years so that Europe can continue its economic growth by keeping the green transformation at the center and maintaining its competitiveness. Even though the main focus of this transformation is Europe, it also encourages all countries producing products for the European market to transition to sustainable production models in line with the same goals and strategies.