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Untangling the EU Green Deal: Opportunities and Pitfalls (LAW-RT-GREDEA-24)

LAW-RT-GREDEA-24

Purpose

The European Green Deal is a comprehensive plan introduced by the European Commission in December 2019. It aims to make the European Union (EU) climate-neutral by 2050 while fostering economic growth and improving the well-being of citizens. The Green Deal encompasses a wide range of policies and initiatives across various sectors to achieve these goals, including energy, transport, buildings, agriculture and nature conservation.
The course reflects on the role of the EU’s Green Deal in mitigating the environmental polycrisis, while critically examining its initial promises and foundations as a pivotal roadmap towards a sustainable future for Europe. We believe that examining the EU Green Deal is not only fundamental now that most of the legislative acts of its initial plan have been delivered, but also because 2024 marks the European Elections, and the start of a new phase for the Deal, which many commentators and parliamentarians have defined as the Green Deal Industrial Plan. Additionally, the tense political and geo-political landscape that has directly or indirectly ensued with respect to the legislative package shines a light on how EU environmental law interacts (or clashes) with other global powers and competing actors from industry lobbyists, NGOs to government actors. Here, the course builds on research carried out by the teachers in light of their doctoral thesis and additional work on the topic, such as a recent book on the Green Deal published in the Netherlands, advocacy work in the context of Generation Climate Europe, and academic conferences such as Unpacking the EU Green Deal (held in Florence at the EUI).

The course is structured into five sessions, each addressing key aspects of the EU Green Deal and its challenges. Session I provides an overview of the foundational pillars of the EU Green Deal, while also analysing its regulatory narrative as a “paradigm shift”. The session will also reflect on whether the study of Green Deal and its related objects require a parallel ontological and epistemological shift considering the diverse array of data, instruments, and forms of expertise shaping the Green Deal and its effects. Session II focuses on the external dimensions of the EU Green Deal. Taking the corporate due diligence laws and carbon border adjustment mechanism as examples, it examines the legislative technique that the EU employs to trigger the global reach of its environmental and climate instruments to third countries. Session III delves into the changes that the EU Green Deal proposes for biodiversity preservation, exploring its significance within the EU's environmental agenda. It invites participants to reflect on the biodiversity crisis and the opportunities and pitfalls of law as a conservation tool. Session IV examines the EU’s framework on renewable energy, and the challenges that derive from its implementation through the case of raw material sourcing and the risk of extractivism. The collaborative Session V synthesises key learnings from previous sessions, encouraging group discussions and innovative solutions for addressing the complex challenges facing the EU Green Deal.
The course adopts a seminar format with a lecture schedule comprising five two-hour sessions, prioritising interactive engagement whenever possible.

First, Second & Third Term: registration from 26 to 30 September 2024  Register for this course