Europe Aims to Be First Climate Neutral Continent by 2050
The European Shared Green Deal (SGD) is the European Commission’s blueprint and roadmap to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent. The success of the deal depends on getting all European countries to transition to a sustainable and competitive economy. That includes, but is not limited to;
  • Investing in environmentally-friendly technologies.
  • Supporting innovation across all industries.
  • Rolling out cleaner, cheaper, and healthier forms of private and public transport.
  • Decarbonizing the energy sector.
  • Ensuring buildings are more energy efficient.
Working with international partners to improve global environmental standards.

How will the Shared Green Deal be implemented?

CEA is a partner in the consortium tasked with making the shared green deal a reality. The European Commission (EC) recognizes that societal transformations are needed to deliver on EU Green Deal ambitions. The consortium aims to stimulate behavioral, social, and cultural change across European regions to align local interests with EU Green Deal policy priorities. The project will create a shared middle ground bridging the gap between economic and environmental interests, member states and the EU, research and practice, policy and business, citizens and legislators, and much more.

The Role of Social Sciences&Humanities

Achieving a Responsible, Equitable and Desirable GREEN DEAL will require solutions beyond the field of economics, business, and environmental sciences. The societal transformations needed to deliver the EU Green Deal ambitions require tools, insight, and analysis from the Social Sciences &Humanities (SSH). The significant SSH expertise of our consortium and wider research networks will bring overlooked behavioral, cultural, and social evidence to light, accelerating the green transition. Our objectives are:
  • Identifying shared actions to achieve real behavioral and social change through transdisciplinary research and social experiments.
  • Build a shared understanding of all stakeholder perspectives and interests.
  • Facilitate a two-way dialogue and mutual participation that ensures the needs of both citizens and professional stakeholders are taken into account and built into the design of Green Deal initiatives.
  • Improve policymaking through shared evidence on social processes across all Green Deal priorities.
  • Making available shared tools and practical insights for local change programs.
  • Ensure that the benefits of the Green Deal are shared in a just and equitable way, benefitting vulnerable and disadvantaged communities and actors affected by economic changes.

The direct impact of the SharedGreenDeal

If successfully implemented, the SGD will offer improved conditions for sustainable research and innovation. It will build a platform for transdisciplinary knowledge exchange and networking across Europe. EU member states’ sustainability efforts will be more effectively aligned for greater impact globally. The action taken will be inclusive and beneficially distributed for all EU members and sectors. Social, historical, cultural, societal, economic, and psychological perspectives will be closely examined to achieve a more nuanced view of what drives long-term change in various EU regions, groups, and communities. This knowledge will be instrumental in generating trust, acceptance, and buy-in from citizens, communities, and organizations. A direct consequence of SGD will be better handling of climate change-related issues on the local and international scale. Communities will gain greater societal resilience against environmental crises, alleviating the uncertainty posing a threat to local markets and economies.

Conclusion

With all of these objectives in mind, we are proud to be on the path as the world’s first climate-neutral continent. The EU hopes to pave the way for other countries and regions to follow suit. The European Green Deal will be a  reference for others to implement similar initiatives advocating for a safer, healthier environment for us all.

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