You cannot regulate your way down to 'Net-Zero' but you can invest to get there

Extract

[...] Digitalization is changing the way people, organizations and things interact. The fourth industrial revolution has a significant impact on the labor market. The number of skilled jobs is expected to increase by 30% globally by 2030. This is because technology is replacing workers in many sectors, which is creating new job opportunities in other sectors. The impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on the labor market will differ depending on the country and region. Countries with more globalized economies will be more affected because their workers will be in direct competition with workers in other countries. [...]

[...] You cannot regulate your way down to 'Net-Zero' but you can invest to get there The European Commission has published a new communication on Better Regulation in 2021, aiming to improve policy-making processes in the EU. This communication demonstrates that the Commission is on the right track by renewing and better regulating the agenda, mainstreaming the Sustainable Development Goals and the digital and green transformation, and ensuring more forward-looking policy development. Some proposals also have huge potential to streamline better regulatory processes and make them more transparent. [...]

[...] The promises of the European Green Deal are diverse. In the areas of climate and energy protection, biodiversity, environmental protection, agriculture, mobility, digitalization, industry, sustainability, circular economy, consumer protection, chemicals, pollution, finance, neighborhood and international policy, the agreement aims to contribute to improving the situation so that the economy and EU society are ecologically sustainable and socially just. In the perspective of the Better Regulation, the Green Deal aims to make the EU climate neutral by 2050. However, it is not clear to what extent emissions reductions and CO2 sinks (technological, such as capture and storage carbon, and natural, such as forests and heaths) should contribute to greenhouse gas neutrality. [...]

[...] The more than 200% increase in raw material demand for rare earths represents only a slight increase over predictions that demand for cobalt could increase by 2,400% over the next 20 years. The fact that dismantling is often accompanied by human rights violations, but also environmental destruction and climate pollution, thwarts the EU's efforts precisely at these levels. It is therefore essential to secure the EU's supply of essential raw materials for decarbonisation to succeed. A review of EU trade policy reveals what this security of supply looks like: the exploitation of raw materials should be facilitated through deregulation and liberalization. [...]

[...] Given the massive pressure to act to bring the dramatic climate, biodiversity and resource crises under control and to achieve profound transformation of economies and societies, the agenda could become a paper tiger. Second, the European Parliament and EU member states are equally involved in legislative processes. Both institutions can therefore decide to significantly modify the Commission's initiatives for better or worse. As an example, it is worth recalling Poland's blockage in the Council, which prevented it from accepting the long-term goal of climate neutrality in 2050. And in Germany, government circles are also opposed to a higher climate target for 2030. [...]