{"id":3079,"date":"2020-05-05T14:32:58","date_gmt":"2020-05-05T14:32:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/dossier\/?p=3079"},"modified":"2020-10-05T07:50:35","modified_gmt":"2020-10-05T07:50:35","slug":"will-covid-19-destroy-or-empower-the-european-green-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/dossier\/will-covid-19-destroy-or-empower-the-european-green-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"Will COVID-19 destroy or empower the European Green Deal?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size greens-content\"><em>We are&nbsp;<\/em><strong><em>Ad\u00e9la\u00efde Charlier<\/em><\/strong><em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<\/em><strong><em>Anuna De Wever<\/em><\/strong><em>. Two climate activists that launched the youth for climate movement in Belgium, and now interns in the Greens\/EFA Group in the European Parliament. We are writing about what we have learned about the European Green Deal, including discussions with policymakers, politicians and activists.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\t<div data-cont class=\"greens-content\">\n\t\t\n\t<div class=\"vpw pat_0 z10\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"z5 pat_0 vpw bg-topic \"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/dossier\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/martin-sanchez-VhjsGKMefkk-unsplash.jpg\"><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t<\/div><div class=\"vpw\"><\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p><em>COVID-19 poster \u00a9 CC0 Martin Sanchez<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:50px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p style=\"text-align:left\" class=\"greens-content\"><em>Read Issue 1: All About the Climate Law <\/em><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/dossier\/all-about-the-eu-climate-law\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>here<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><br><em>Read Issue 2: Responding to a Crisis: Climate and Corona <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/dossier\/all-about-the-european-green-deal\/\"><em>here.<\/em><\/a><br><em>Read Issue 3: Will COVID-19 Destroy or Empower the European Green Deal <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/dossier\/will-covid-19-destroy-or-empower-the-european-green-deal\/\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a><\/em><br><em>Read Issue 4: Financing the Green Deal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/dossier\/financing-the-green-deal\/\">here<\/a><\/em><br><em>Read Issue 5: The EU Recovery Plan <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/dossier\/the-eu-recovery-plan\/\">here<\/a><\/em><br><em>Read Issue 6: The Mercosur Trade Agreement: A Lose-Lose Deal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/dossier\/the-mercosur-trade-agreement-a-lose-lose-deal\/\">here<\/a><\/em><br><em>Read Issue 7: Farm to Fork Strategy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/dossier\/farm-to-fork-strategy\/\">here<\/a><\/em><br><em>Read Issue 8: The European Climate Targets by 2030 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/dossier\/the-european-climate-targets-by-2030\/\">here\ufeff<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/dossier\/farm-to-fork-strategy\/\">\ufeff<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_heading\">\n<h2><strong>Contents&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter has-medium-font-size\" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_list\">\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><li>Introduction to Blog on COVID-19  <\/li><li>The current situation <\/li><li>The delayed initiatives of the European Green Deal<\/li><li>Using corona crisis as a catalyst for climate action<\/li><\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:50px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\t<div data-cont class=\"greens-content\">\n\t\t<div class=\"sq ce half no-marg ce-text ce-bigtext high-green tc\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"txt tc z8 fs-normal taj\">\n\t\t\t<em>What lessons will the EU learn from the COVID-19 crisis? The European decisions post-corona will determine if we will reach our climate goals signed in Paris in 2015.<\/em>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-drop-cap has-medium-font-size has-black-color greens-content\">Facing the coronavirus, governments all around the world took extreme measures to cancel sports seasons, shut down workplaces, restrict physical movement and ask everyone to stay home. These measures are understandable and necessary facing the situation. We are facing a global health crisis. People are dying. So, we have to do anything we can to protect as many people as possible.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-medium-font-size has-black-color greens-content\">But there is a certain danger lying underneath these extreme actions. Our economy is collapsing, and it is possible that Member States will use this economic loss as an excuse to back out of their promised climate ambitions.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size greens-content\">This new crisis might be a&nbsp;<em>make it or break it moment<\/em>, and it is crucial we don\u2019t return to business as usual afterwards.<strong><em>&nbsp;<\/em><\/strong>Let\u2019s not forget that going back to normal is going back to a climate emergency. Going back to normal, means going back to children protesting in the streets for a future. It means going back to a fossil fuel addicted economy, to an unequal world and to a human rights crisis.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size greens-content\">Please note that we are not underestimating the health crisis happening today, we would just like to remind you that sadly, it is not the only one\u2026 and there are still ways to prevent future disasters, like Corona.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size greens-content\">It was not easy to get all 27 EU countries to sign the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/info\/strategy\/priorities-2019-2024\/european-green-deal_en\">European Green Deal&nbsp;<\/a>in December 2019. Today, we have to be careful and make sure that the countries who already had a hard time supporting the European Green Deal, do not use the corona crisis to slow down or even stop their climate ambition.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_heading\">\n<h3 style=\"text-align:left\" class=\"greens-content\">The current situation<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size greens-content\">Will the European Green Deal be at the core of a post-corona relaunch of the economy? This question is at the heart of intense debate within the EU. Some of the 27 members strongly believe that the Commission should help Europe respect its climate objectives during the post corona era, because they believe the European Green Deal is the roadmap out of this crisis and that the European Green Deal goals should not be put on hold or slowed down.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size greens-content\">But unfortunately, this is not the vision of all countries\u2026 like ours, Belgium that is not seeing the post corona as an opportunity to change our economy and reach our federal climate goals.<br><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\t<div data-cont class=\"greens-content\">\n\t\t\n\t<div class=\"vpw pat_0 z10\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"z5 pat_0 vpw bg-topic \"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/dossier\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/jon-tyson-PXB7yEM5LVs-unsplash-2.jpg\"><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t<\/div><div class=\"vpw\"><\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p><em>Choice \u00a9 CC0 Jon Tyson<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size greens-content\">Led by Denmark, ten Member States signed a call to respond to the economic crisis as well as&nbsp;<em>transforming Europe into a zero-carbon continent with a sustainable economy<\/em>. It is a call to warn the EU of finding short-term solutions that will only increase our dependency on fossil fuels. Sweden, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Portugal, Latvia and Luxembourg, urged the European Union to adopt a \u201cgreen\u201d recovery plan, as fears grow that the economic hit caused by the coronavirus pandemic could weaken action on climate change. Our home country, Belgium, is one of the Members State that did not sign the call, which is unacceptable from a wealthy country in the heart of Europe that should be leading the transition. Let&#8217;s make sure those countries keep their engagement during post corona.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_heading\">\n<h3 class=\"greens-content\">Opportunities for climate action are blocked<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\t<div data-cont class=\"greens-content\">\n\t\t\n\t<div class=\"vph pat_0 z10\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"z5 pat_0 vph bg-topic \" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/dossier\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/paul-skorupskas-7KLa-xLbSXA-unsplash-1-2.jpg);\"><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t<\/div><div class=\"vph\"><\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p><em>Focus through camera lens \u00a9 CC0 Paul Skorupskas<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter has-medium-font-size\" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_list\">\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><li>In a press conference held by the European Commission it became clear that due to the corona crisis, non &#8211; essential initiatives might be delayed. <\/li><li> Also, some Member States and European leaders are speaking out about delaying the European Green Deal. For example, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babi\u0161 said that the EU Green Deal should be scrapped in order to focus on the coronavirus. <\/li><li> Apart from this, the media is also leaving no space whatsoever to talk about climate change. Raising awareness right now is very hard and all climate movements can barely do any actions anymore. <\/li><\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size greens-content\">But, there is also good news;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sg\/en\">Ant\u00f3nio&nbsp;Guterres<\/a>&nbsp;(the United Nations Secretary-General) was speaking on 10 March at the launch of the World Meteorological Organisation\u2019s latest annual State of the Climate report and he said it is important not to minimise the impact of the virus: \u201cMany thousands could indeed die. But it will pass by. And if we allow it to distract us from the climate change issue, however, the entire present and future population of the world may be in peril.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size greens-content\">Other Member States and European leaders like Austria\u2019s Federal Minister for Climate Action,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmk.gv.at\/en\/ministry\/minister.html\">Leonore Gewessler<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/commission\/commissioners\/2019-2024\/timmermans_en\">Commissioner Frans Timmermans<\/a>&nbsp;also stressed the urgency of continued&nbsp;fast and efficient action on climate change.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_heading\">\n<h3 class=\"greens-content\">The delayed initiatives of the European Green Deal<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\t<div data-cont class=\"greens-content\">\n\t\t\n\t<div class=\"vph pat_0 z10\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"z5 pat_0 vph bg-topic \" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/dossier\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/pierre-bamin-8we5qwdjWk8-unsplash-2-2.jpg);\"><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t<\/div><div class=\"vph\"><\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p><em>Hand holding a time piece \u00a9 CC0 Pierre Bamin<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size greens-content\">It seems like the Commission wants to keep the European Green Deal on track. Ursula von der Leyen said on 28 April the Green Deal will be &#8220;our motor for the recovery.&#8221; We now have to make sure that these words translate into actions. We will keep an eye on this.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size greens-content\">Although climate policies remain broadly on track, other initiatives under the European Green Deal are being delayed because they are considered \u201cless essential\u201d. A list of delayed European Green Deal initiatives of the Commission was leaked, and it became clear the European Green Deal will absolutely suffer from the corona crisis.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size greens-content\">Several very important and urgent policies face delays, some until 2021. The&nbsp;<strong>EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030&nbsp;<\/strong>as well as the&nbsp;<strong>European Climate Pact<\/strong>&nbsp;will be postponed. This is related to the postponement of COP26 in Glasgow. The&nbsp;<strong>\u2018Farm to Fork\u2019 Strategy<\/strong>&nbsp;that should also reflect the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to food security faces postponement.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size greens-content\">Other initiatives that make a huge impact on our CO\u00b2 levels are likely to be delayed. The&nbsp;<strong>New EU Forest Strategy,&nbsp;<\/strong>which is crucial for our carbon budget,&nbsp;as well as the&nbsp;<strong>ReFuelEU Aviation&nbsp;<\/strong>initiative are delayed. The latter is possibly related to the fact that the aviation sector is now demanding unconditional taxpayer-funded bailouts amid the global collapse of air travel.&nbsp;&nbsp;Although they have completely refused to contribute to emission reductions measures over the&nbsp;recent years.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_heading\">\n<h3 style=\"text-align:left\" class=\"greens-content\">Using corona as a catalyst from climate action<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size greens-content\">So, as a result of COVID-19, there are certainly two types of reactions we already see. Facing a huge economic crisis, some want to rebuild and relaunch the economy as quickly as possible exactly as it was before, completely ignoring the other huge crisis we are facing.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size greens-content\">Others, like us, see this as an opportunity to change the world for the better and use this as a catalyst for climate action, wanting to change the current system and develop a new long-term green economy. Using this crisis, an economic collapse could in fact be an opportunity to accelerate the necessary transition towards a carbon-free economy. From that perspective, going back to normal is not an option because \u2018normal\u2019 is the problem.<br><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size greens-content\">Annika Hedberg, Head of the Sustainable Prosperity for Europe Programme at the European Policy Centre, already pointed out some urgent problems. Due to economic losses already incurred, many stakeholders and sectors may be calling for relaunching economic growth at any price,&nbsp;even at the cost of climate and the environment. That\u2019s why Europe should support people and businesses in the transition, for example by aligning the proposed Multiannual Financial Framework (MMF) of 2021-2027 to the European Green Deal goals.<br><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size greens-content\">The MMF is the EU\u2019s long-term budget. It sets the limits for EU spending over a period of seven years. It\u2019s crucial that a large share of the money be spent on rebuilding the economy in a green and sustainable way that leads towards a carbon-neutral Europe.<br><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size greens-content\">Also, the European Commission\u2019s Executive Vice-President&nbsp;in charge of the economy,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/commission\/commissioners\/2019-2024\/dombrovskis_en\">Valdis Dombrovski<\/a>, said: \u201cWe are currently battling the coronavirus outbreak, but we must not lose sight of our long-term sustainability objectives, including making Europe climate-neutral by 2050. Creating a more sustainable and resilient economy will be a&nbsp;key focus of the recovery phase.&nbsp;The renewed strategy will aim to boost green investments by fully integrating climate and environmental risks into the financial system. By placing the European Green Deal at the centre of the recovery program of the EU, we will have learnt something from that crisis.<br><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size greens-content\">Also two important initiatives of the Green Deal will stay on course: The Renewed Sustainable Finance Strategy, considered a \u201ckey contributor\u201d to the COVID-19 crisis recovery and the 2030 Climate Target Plan, which includes the risk assessment (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/dossier\/all-about-the-european-green-deal\/\">see previous blog &#8211; Responding to a crisis: climate and corona<\/a>).<br><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\t<div data-cont class=\"greens-content\">\n\t\t<div class=\"sq ce half no-marg ce-text ce-bigtext high-orange tc\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"txt tc z8 fs-normal taj\">\n\t\t\t <span class=\"typewriter\" data-adders=\"0.5;js_start_type\"><em>This makes us hopeful.<\/em><br><\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size greens-content\">So, while we\u2019re at home spending our days in quarantine, let\u2019s think about what kind of world we want to return to. It is important to keep a clear vision of where we want to go and remember that, when Corona is over, we still have a huge battle to fight.&nbsp;&nbsp;Let\u2019s make it worth it, for everyone.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size greens-content\">Let&#8217;s not forget what the world looked like before.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\t<div data-cont class=\"greens-content\">\n\t\t\n\t<div class=\"vpw pat_0 z10\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"z5 pat_0 vpw bg-topic \"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/dossier\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/amazon_forest_fire_web2.jpg\"><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t<\/div><div class=\"vpw\"><\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p><em>Fires &#8211; The Amazon Forest is burning \u00a9 Anuna De Wever<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\t<div data-cont class=\"greens-content\">\n\t\t\n\t<div class=\"vpw pat_0 z10\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"z5 pat_0 vpw bg-topic \"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/dossier\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/anton-ivanchenko-ESqdY3R98-Y-unsplash.jpg\"><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t<\/div><div class=\"vpw\"><\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p><em>Severe draughts are one of the many negative impacts of climate change &#8211;  \u00a9 CC0 Anton Ivanchenko<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\t<div data-cont class=\"greens-content\">\n\t\t\n\t<div class=\"vpw pat_0 z10\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"z5 pat_0 vpw bg-topic \"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/dossier\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Jennifer_Lost_CC-BY-SA-2.0_flickr.jpg\"><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t<\/div><div class=\"vpw\"><\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p><em>Women in Chile performing a protest song against violence against women. \u00a9 Jennifer Lost on Flickr CC BY-SA 2.0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\t<div data-cont class=\"greens-content\">\n\t\t\n\t<div class=\"vpw pat_0 z10\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"z5 pat_0 vpw bg-topic \"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/dossier\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/climate_march_brussels.jpg\"><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t<\/div><div class=\"vpw\"><\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p><em>Fridays for Future March for the Climate in Brussels, Feb. 2020. \u00a9 CC0 JB Pierini<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\t<div data-cont class=\"greens-content\">\n\t\t<div class=\"sq ce half no-marg ce-text ce-bigtext high-green tc\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"txt tc z8 fs-subline \">\n\t\t\t <span class=\"typewriter\" data-adders=\"0.5;js_start_type\"><em>About us<\/em><\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\t<div data-cont class=\"greens-content\">\n\t\t\n\t<div class=\"vpw pat_0 z10\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"z5 pat_0 vpw bg-topic \"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/dossier\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Image-from-iOS-2.jpg\"><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t<\/div><div class=\"vpw\"><\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p><em>Ad\u00e9la\u00efde Charlier (left) and Anuna De Wever (right)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size greens-content\">We are Ad\u00e9la\u00efde Charlier and Anuna De Wever, two climate activists that launched the youth for climate movement in Belgium, internationally known as <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/slack-redir.net\/link?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fridaysforfuture.org%2F\" target=\"_blank\">Fridays For Future<\/a>. We went on strike for weeks and weeks, for more than a year.  We worked together with scientists, politicians and activists. We recently sailed to Latin America to attend the CoP in Chile and to understand the threat to the Amazon Rainforest and the Global South facing the direct consequences of climate change.<br><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size greens-content\">After this, we felt like it was time for our activism to evolve and for us to get closer to the decision making process at the European level. We started an internship in the Greens\/EFA Group in February 2020 and decided to write a regular blog to share information on the preparation of the European Green Deal within the Parliament.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px; background:transparent; display:block;\" class=\"spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size greens-content\">We want to build the bridge between the climate activists in the streets and the politicians in the European Parliament. We would like to offer young activists more information about the internal trade-offs to pressure the right points, and debate with our politicians to show them there are millions of people all around the world ready and waiting for change.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"gouter \" style=\"\"><div class=\"greens-content blk_core_paragraph\">\n<p><br><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This new crisis might be a make it or break it moment, and it is crucial we don\u2019t return to business as usual afterwards. Let\u2019s not forget that going back to normal is going back to a climate emergency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3125,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.6.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Will COVID-19 destroy or empower the European Green Deal? - Greens\/EFA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Will COVID-19 destroy or empower the European Green Deal? - Greens\/EFA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This new crisis might be a make it or break it moment, and it is crucial we don\u2019t return to business as usual afterwards. 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