Europe’s Economic Recovery – Climate Neutral, Fair and Innovative

The Corona crisis offers three important lessons for climate policies and Europe’s economic recovery. First, systemic shocks – like the Corona pandemic or climate change – affect the foundations of modern societies. Second, resiliency, preparedness and time are existential factors in addressing systemic crises. Third, the world’s economic recovery must help build efficient, innovative and climate neutral economies. In turn, calls to delay climate policies draw the wrong lessons from the current crisis and undermine Europe’s economic recovery. All countries, including the EU, must accelerate their emission reductions drastically – in the near term until 2030 as well as in the long term until 2050.

These are the main conclusions of joint paper by Szazadveg Foundation, 300Gospodarka and Ecologic Institute. This paper is part of the project “Building bridges – High Trust Network with Conservative Groups for Ambitious Climate Action”, funded by the European Climate Initiative.  The project aims at facilitating dialogues on climate policies between conservative and other groups from Hungary, Poland and Germany.