Climate hopes of European Union run into headwinds as bloc changes leadership

Environmentalists closely monitor the new European Commission amid concerns of climate priorities being sidelined in Brussels.

Next week’s unveiling of the new European Commission will be watched closely by environmentalists – at a time when defending the environment has skidded down the list of priorities in Brussels.

Back in 2019, EU-wide elections held in the wake of massive youth climate marches saw a surge of support for the Greens, who captured more than 70 seats in the European Parliament.

This June, by contrast, the Greens shed 20 seats in a vote marked by gains for the right and far right.

For Luke Haywood of the European Environmental Bureau NGO federation, the writing is on the wall – he expects the shift in Parliament may relegate the EU’s climate ambitions to the backburner.

“There is a risk that there will be an attempt to ignore the long-term benefits that we all have of acting on climate now, focusing on short-term gains for certain industries,” he said.

Climate loomed large under the outgoing Commission, which drove through an ambitious legislative “Green Deal” including flagship measures such as a ban on new combustion engine cars from 2035. Setting a roadmap for her second term, Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen pledged to “stay the course” on the environment – while promising to “reconcile climate protection with a prosperous economy.”

However, the key question is, who in the next EU executive team will inherit the task of making lofty goals a reality, with many of the Green Deal’s laws still at various stages of implementation.