Green Transition: The Rise of the Right and Growing Public Resistance Test Politicians’ Resolve

The strengthening of the right in the upcoming European elections could significantly blunt the already shaky political will to continue green policies. Although the economy is already paying the price for its implementation, diluting the green transition would also have negative economic consequences.

In early February, the European Commission proposed an ambitious plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent by 2040. This is a significant leap in ambitions compared to the current goal of reducing emissions by 55 percent by 2030.

The latest emissions reduction proposal will also test the political will to continue the green transition, in which cracks are becoming increasingly visible. This is confirmed by the final proposal from Brussels: the provision from previous versions requiring the agricultural sector to further reduce emissions by a third compared to 2015 levels has disappeared from the document.

Is this a concession to farmers who recently blocked traffic in several European countries for days due to the costs imposed on them by green policies? Undoubtedly, believes Domagoj Juričić, a political analyst and consultant at MK Business Consulting.

– These protests highlighted farmers’ deep concerns about the potential economic consequences of stricter climate measures on their sector. Farmers are key stakeholders in the European economy, and their dissatisfaction can have significant political and social consequences. Protesters often pointed out that strict measures could jeopardize their sustainability and lead to job losses, which is an issue that resonates with the broader public. In this context, the European Commission’s decision to exempt the agricultural sector from certain requirements can be seen as an attempt to find a balance between setting ambitious emissions reduction goals and addressing the legitimate concerns of key sectors – Juričić assesses.

Green policy is merely a fig leaf for farmers’ protests, but the source of the problem lies elsewhere, as interpreted by Tonino Picula, a Member of the European Parliament from the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats. In his view, the main reasons for the protests, as highlighted by the farmers themselves, are low incomes, transition costs, free trade agreements, and the influx of cheap agricultural products from third countries.

– Thus, the supposedly unreasonable demands of European green policy are a ploy pushed in the context of agriculture by political options, specifically the conservatives and liberals, who caused this crisis with reforms of the common agricultural policy aimed at reducing production subsidies and free trade agreements that do not protect small producers – Picula emphasizes.

Is the latest EC proposal feasible, and what are the short-term and long-term problems for Croatia related to regulatory requirements for greenhouse gas emissions? Find out in the new issue of the printed and digital edition of Lider.