Towards climate neutrality 

On Tuesday European Commission presented their plan for the European Green Deal or simply said the plan how Europe to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. The plan proposed by Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President and driving force behind the Green Deal, affects all of member states and aims to reduce pollution, food to be prepared as environmentally friendly as possible and the emissions from the transport sector to be reduced by 90% in 2050.
On Tuesday it was also revealed an investment plan which aims to raise 1000 billion euros over 10 years to ensure a sustainable ecological transition known as Just Transition Fund, writes Dutch Algemeen Dagblad. The investment plan is meant to help transition regions still relying on coal to a carbon-neutral economy. The fund will include 7.5 billion euros which will be allocated to national governments. The investment plan was received with mixed feelings in the Parliament: Dutch MEP Kim van Sparrentak from GroenLinks has said the addition of 7.5 billion is way too low. Commissioner Frans Timmermans agreed the amount is not enough, but said it is a good start.

De Tijd writes this week how much is Belgium going to receive from the Just Transition Fund. On Wednesday it was announced the amount different member states will receive. Belgium will rely on the amount of 68 million euros for the next seven years.
De Tijd argues the low amount for Belgium is due to the fact that the country does not rely on coal like other European member states and has already made a transition to a greener economy years ago. The European Commission will publish by the end of next month the requirements which regions will need to meet in order to receive money from the Just Transition Fund. It will be up to national governments to allocate and decide which regions will need funding to help the transition. In Belgium currently only Hainaut still has a status of a disadvantaged region.
De Tijd concludes Poland will be the biggest beneficiary from the fund with 2 billion euros to receive, while Germany is coming second due to the fact it currently relies on coal and lignite.

Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera praises the adoption of the European Parliament’s resolution on the Green Deal. After a detailed description of the plan, including the Just Transition Fund and the Just Transition Mechanism, the article introduces the financial and legal tools that the Green Deal will provide the Member States with. In this regard, it is very likely that Italian regions of Lombardy, Sardinia, Piedmont and Apulia will benefit from the Just Transition Fund. These regions have based their industrial production on a high combustion of carbon-based fuels. Italy has one of the highest percentages of premature deaths in the EU for nitrogen dioxide and ozone pollution, preceded by Bulgaria and Hungary. Italian Commissioner for the Economy Paolo Gentiloni stated that the Just Transition Fund will provide Italian steelworks company Ilva, which has been investigated for environmental crimes and pollution, with structural funds. The hope is to facilitate the process of industrial re-conversion throughout these regions, aiming to promote a low-carbon economy, and effectively fight climate change.

And on a different note: German Berliner Morgenpost discusses what changes are foreseen to be introduced, so Europe can become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. Currently 11% of EU’s greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture and food production, states Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety. In the spring she will present a plan known as “farm-to-fork strategy” which will be an important part of the European Green Deal. The aim of the strategy is to put to test everything from manufacturing and processing of food to distribution, consumption and disposal. The new strategy will also include more information on the origin of food for more transparency for the consumers. Commissioner Kyriakides has set goals to reduce pesticides as well by using alternative crop protection products and new technologies.
Another important part of the strategy includes decrease of food waste with 50% by 2023. This would require Member States to monitor and report on the amount of food waste from 2023 onward, the article concludes.