13.06.2024
Climate Alliance on the 2024 European Elections
The 2024 European Election ballots have been cast and while results are still officially being tallied, the trend is clear. The political landscape has shifted more to the right with notable far right gains. Does this signal a broken social contract in Europe? Many of the political movements that have been bolstered by these elections will undoubtedly pose a challenge for climate policy and social cohesion.
Luckily, hard-won Green Deal policy measures of the past five years have already been secured; a huge step forward. The legislation now needs to be transposed into national law and executed in our cities and towns. Despite the new configuration of political representation going forward, there can be no backtracking. The danger is of course that anti-climate policy Members of the European Parliament as well as Member States can stall, delay and distract attention from the task and squaring affordability, sustainability and security with competitiveness will be no simple task.
Climate Alliance will continue to advocate for multi-level governance to ensure that climate policy implementation is shaped with a better focus on the social impacts in mind while taking municipal needs and recommendations into account. Looking ahead, Climate Alliance will continue its focus on supporting local authorities in achieving emission reduction targets, addressing energy poverty, implementing nature-based solutions, increasing energy savings, laying out heating and cooling plans, making mobility more sustainable, and boosting resilience to ensure a just transition.
In the broader scheme of things, this shift in the newly elected European Parliament likely represents the ebb and flow of the tide – inevitable over the course of decade’s long work on climate issues. For now though, we will demonstrate that the climate agenda is a prosperity agenda for all. Swift action on climate the climate crisis will not curtail our freedoms so much as it will secure them.
Learn more
Want to find out more? Contact Noelani Dubeta, Climate Alliance’s EU Policy Coordinator, at n.dubeta(at)climatealliance.org