Last year, in an open letter to Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, dozens of environmental organizations requested to “climate-proof the entire EU budget.”
The signatories of the letter also called for increasing the “share of climate spending to a significantly higher level than 20% across the whole EU budget.”
But there are spending limits that the EU budgets can’t go beyond.
The seven-year Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) defines spending priorities and ceilings for the annual EU budgets. Per the 2014-2020 MFF, the EU can spend more than €900 billion over this period.
As the current MFF nears its end, the negotiations are on for the 2021-2027 MFF.
This is the right time for sectoral budget proposals.
25% of the EU Budget on Climate Action: Will Europe Get on Board?
The EU national leaders, except British PM Theresa May, met on May 9th at the Sibiu summit in Romania to debate the “Future of Europe”.
And they found an open letter awaiting them signed by eight EU countries proposing that the EU dedicates 25% of its total budget against climate disruption.
With the lengthy negotiations of the EU MFF comes a joint declaration from France, Belgium, Denmark, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden.
The eight countries exhort the EU to “commit to phasing out carbon emissions by 2050 and dedicating 25% of the EU’s next long-term budget to projects fighting climate change.”
Read More: Make it Rain: Why A Climate Action Model Will be the Next Boom Economy
When it comes to climate change, Europe has to literally put its money where its mouth is.
Redirecting Europe’s financial flows and incentives toward meeting the Paris Agreement goals will help the world curb global warming and avoid the worst.
There are 28 member countries within the European Union — well, 27 pending Brexit’s uncertain outcome — and now as they’re called on to take serious climate action, will they?
The proposal in itself is an ambitious project that, if voters pass it, would be of significant impact not only for Europe, but the world at large. And the fact that it comes from inside the EU makes its odds at passing, let’s say, decent.
Per Forbes, the eight countries said: “an early commitment to adopt the target would send a signal that the bloc sees fighting climate change as a key part of its future.”
The European Council will vote on the proposal next month.
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