{"id":2152,"date":"2024-05-16T20:23:44","date_gmt":"2024-05-16T18:23:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/?p=2152"},"modified":"2024-05-27T18:01:25","modified_gmt":"2024-05-27T16:01:25","slug":"the-green-transition-has-become-a-matter-of-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2024\/05\/16\/the-green-transition-has-become-a-matter-of-security\/","title":{"rendered":"The green transition has become a matter of security"},"content":{"rendered":"

The <\/span>Green Deal is an ambitious policy. Its implementation relies on the concept of the EU\u2019s strategic autonomy, which is linked to the issue of supply security. However, there is a clear conflict with the European narrative on open trade.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The EU\u2019s environmental policy is ambitious. It aims at achieving a challenging goal: to become the first continent to achieve the coveted climate neutrality.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The first step in the European climate strategy was the adoption of the Green Deal. Launched in December 2019, it is one of the highlights of the von der Leyen Commission. The document emphasises that the green transition must necessarily address climate and environmental issues, while at the same time safeguarding the competitiveness of the European economy. <\/span>To realise these two objectives<\/span>, it is <\/span>therefore necessary to make the European economy resource-efficient, with the ambition of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, through an intermediate target set for 2030 of at least a 55% reduction from 1990 levels.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The policies that define the Green Deal<\/b><\/h3>\n

The priorities identified in the Green Deal have been transposed into the legislative instrument – commonly known as the \u201cEuropean Climate Law\u201d – that makes the 2030 and 2050 climate targets binding. Furthermore, in 2021 the European Commission launched a support package called \u201cFit for 55,\u201d which consists of interlinked proposals covering different sectors aimed at aligning the European regulatory framework with the new climate goals. Many of the proposals have already been adopted, while others are still under discussion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Since the launch of the Green Deal, the socio-economic and geopolitical context has changed considerably. In particular, two events have had a major impact on the context of the climate goals: the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. In the European Union, both crises brought up issues related to \u201csecurity,\u201d broadly understood to include problems related to supply chains. The new situation, of course, has had broad repercussions on European industry, which suffered the consequences of inflation and increased prices for raw materials, products and capital, weakening its international competitiveness. European institutions have reacted by pushing for greater strategic autonomy, through the adoption of instruments with protectionist ambitions, aimed at strengthening domestic industry, especially in sectors relevant to the green transition.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

European industry and the green transition<\/b><\/h3>\n

Looking at the current international context, it is possible to identify at least two factors that predominately influence European choices in the industrial sectors involved in the green transition: the global race to green investments (consider, for example, the US Inflation Reduction Act) and the control exercised by other international players over materials and technologies that are strategic for the green transition (such as, for example, China with regard to rare earths). Therefore, on the one hand, there is a danger that possible investments in the European Union\u2019s green technologies will be diverted elsewhere – for example, to countries that grant larger subsidies to companies – thus undermining the competitiveness and resilience of the European industry in the long run. More generally, this situation could make the green transition more difficult. On the other hand, it is precisely the fear of the risks related to European industry\u2019s dependence on third states that has pushed the European Union to accelerate the transition, working to reduce its own dependencies and strengthen strategic autonomy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Green Deal Industrial Plan is an example of these dynamics. It was adopted by the Commission to pursue the climate objective without negatively affecting the competitiveness of the European industry but, rather, strengthening it. The document sets out a comprehensive approach to support the green transition from an industrial policy standpoint and comprises four pillars. The first aims to simplify the regulatory and authorisation processes for new green technology production and assembly sites, facilitating the development of a net-zero industry in the Union. The second pillar consists of increasing investments and financing for production of the technologies needed for the transition. This goal will be achieved through the revision of the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework adopted in March 2023 and the creation of the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) to preserve the European Union\u2019s expertise in technologies relevant to the green and digital transition. The third pillar is aimed at developing the skills needed to achieve the transition and increasing the number of skilled workers in the clean energy technology sector. Finally, the fourth pillar focuses on trade and diversification of the supply chain for crucial raw materials. This includes the creation of a Critical Raw Materials Club, collaboration with like-minded partners to collectively strengthen supply chains, and diversification of critical materials suppliers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Net-Zero Industry Act and Critical Raw Materials Act<\/b><\/h3>\n

Two other instruments fall under the broader umbrella of the Green Deal Industrial Plan: the Net-Zero Industry Act and the Critical Raw Materials Act. They complement each other and operate at different levels of the supply chain. The first concerns the final, downstream part, as it addresses the production of net-zero technologies in terms of final products, components and specific machinery. The second deals with the upstream part of the supply chain, that of raw materials. In both cases, the stated objectives are to address risks arising from global decarbonisation efforts and, in particular, to ensure the security of supply in the field of net-zero technologies, sustainable competitiveness and, at the same time, an open global market.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Specifically, the Net-Zero Industry Act aims to facilitate conditions for investments in green technologies by simplifying permitting procedures and supporting strategic projects. The goal is to cover 40% of the EU\u2019s needs for technology products necessary for the transition (e.g., solar photovoltaic panels, wind turbines, batteries, and heat pumps) by 2030.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Critical Raw Material Act proposal, on the other hand, aims to ensure the security of supply of critical raw materials in a way that is affordable, diversified and sustainable.<\/span><\/p>\n

Between strategic autonomy and open trade<\/b><\/h3>\n

The notion of strategic autonomy has long been relegated to the defence sector. In recent years – especially since the Covid-19 pandemic and, subsequently, with the outbreak of the war in Ukraine – the term \u201copen strategic autonomy\u201d has begun to be used at the European level with a broader, more flexible and vague meaning. It is precisely these characteristics that, from a political standpoint, make the concept of strategic autonomy a goal to be pursued across the board and in multiple domains. In particular, if we look at the Net-Zero Industry Act and the Critical Raw Materials Act, it is clear how the pursuit of strategic autonomy takes on a central role and how it is carried out through attempts to strengthen the European industry, especially in areas relevant to the decarbonisation of economies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, it is interesting to see how the European institutions, for the time being, have not committed to provide a clear definition of strategic autonomy. On the contrary, they often claim a desire to protect market and trade openness as much as possible. The traditional narrative of the European Union, which likes to portray itself as a champion of free trade, is also furthered by the Green Deal Industrial Plan, though the Union is timidly distancing itself from it. In fact, on one hand, it has admitted that access to productive factors in third countries is crucial for the green transition and that open trade creates broader opportunities for the European industry in new export markets and for the creation of economies of scale. On the other hand, it is also stated that \u201copenness only thrives where fairness survives.\u201d This statement reveals the tension between maintaining open markets and the desire to protect the competitiveness of the European industry by ensuring that no negative effects occur.<\/span><\/p>\n

The green transition is a matter of security<\/b><\/h3>\n

In light of the framework we have outlined, it is clear that a process is underway that increasingly links the issue of green transition to that of security. In other words, the green transition is being presented as an emergency, as a matter of security that justifies protectionist measures. On closer inspection, the European industry as a whole is affected by this process, in which the use of strategic autonomy (whether as a goal in its own right or as a tool, is still unclear) plays a dominant role. Just think, for example, of the recent European Defence Industry Strategy, jointly presented by the European Commission and the High Representative in early March 2024. From a legal point of view, however, the broad use that is made of the concept of strategic autonomy would require clarification from the European institutions as to the scope of this notion.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gabriella Perotto<\/strong> is a research fellow and Adjunct Professor of European Union law at Bocconi University in Milan. She is currently a fellow at BLEST (Bocconi Lab for European Studies) and IEP (Institute for European Policymaking).<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Green Deal is an ambitious policy. Its implementation relies on the concept of the EU\u2019s strategic autonomy, which is linked to the issue of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6533,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"coauthors":[25],"class_list":["post-2152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-non-categorizzato"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe green transition has become a matter of security - Rivista Eco<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2024\/05\/16\/the-green-transition-has-become-a-matter-of-security\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The green transition has become a matter of security - Rivista Eco\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Green Deal is an ambitious policy. Its implementation relies on the concept of the EU\u2019s strategic autonomy, which is linked to the issue of […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2024\/05\/16\/the-green-transition-has-become-a-matter-of-security\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rivista Eco\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-05-16T18:23:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-05-27T16:01:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gabriella Perotto\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gabriella Perotto\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/en\\\/2024\\\/05\\\/16\\\/the-green-transition-has-become-a-matter-of-security\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/en\\\/2024\\\/05\\\/16\\\/the-green-transition-has-become-a-matter-of-security\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Gabriella Perotto\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/31cd15f3b5103828618dad2c28dce704\"},\"headline\":\"The green transition has become a matter of security\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-05-16T18:23:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-05-27T16:01:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/en\\\/2024\\\/05\\\/16\\\/the-green-transition-has-become-a-matter-of-security\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1472,\"articleSection\":[\"Non categorizzato\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/en\\\/2024\\\/05\\\/16\\\/the-green-transition-has-become-a-matter-of-security\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/en\\\/2024\\\/05\\\/16\\\/the-green-transition-has-become-a-matter-of-security\\\/\",\"name\":\"The green transition has become a matter of security - Rivista Eco\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-05-16T18:23:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-05-27T16:01:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/31cd15f3b5103828618dad2c28dce704\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/en\\\/2024\\\/05\\\/16\\\/the-green-transition-has-become-a-matter-of-security\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/en\\\/2024\\\/05\\\/16\\\/the-green-transition-has-become-a-matter-of-security\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/en\\\/2024\\\/05\\\/16\\\/the-green-transition-has-become-a-matter-of-security\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The green transition has become a matter of security\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Rivista Eco\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/31cd15f3b5103828618dad2c28dce704\",\"name\":\"Gabriella Perotto\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0372cd323204ccac0acb1c24e7fe9071247bebc2edd1e49042df3d91b9a157ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g3c90e1ce49ce17fcfc3f53edd0200f5f\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0372cd323204ccac0acb1c24e7fe9071247bebc2edd1e49042df3d91b9a157ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0372cd323204ccac0acb1c24e7fe9071247bebc2edd1e49042df3d91b9a157ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Gabriella Perotto\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rivistaeco.com\\\/en\\\/author\\\/gperotto\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The green transition has become a matter of security - Rivista Eco","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2024\/05\/16\/the-green-transition-has-become-a-matter-of-security\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The green transition has become a matter of security - Rivista Eco","og_description":"The Green Deal is an ambitious policy. Its implementation relies on the concept of the EU\u2019s strategic autonomy, which is linked to the issue of […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2024\/05\/16\/the-green-transition-has-become-a-matter-of-security\/","og_site_name":"Rivista Eco","article_published_time":"2024-05-16T18:23:44+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-05-27T16:01:25+00:00","author":"Gabriella Perotto","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gabriella Perotto","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2024\/05\/16\/the-green-transition-has-become-a-matter-of-security\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2024\/05\/16\/the-green-transition-has-become-a-matter-of-security\/"},"author":{"name":"Gabriella Perotto","@id":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/#\/schema\/person\/31cd15f3b5103828618dad2c28dce704"},"headline":"The green transition has become a matter of security","datePublished":"2024-05-16T18:23:44+00:00","dateModified":"2024-05-27T16:01:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2024\/05\/16\/the-green-transition-has-become-a-matter-of-security\/"},"wordCount":1472,"articleSection":["Non categorizzato"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2024\/05\/16\/the-green-transition-has-become-a-matter-of-security\/","url":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2024\/05\/16\/the-green-transition-has-become-a-matter-of-security\/","name":"The green transition has become a matter of security - Rivista Eco","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-05-16T18:23:44+00:00","dateModified":"2024-05-27T16:01:25+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/#\/schema\/person\/31cd15f3b5103828618dad2c28dce704"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2024\/05\/16\/the-green-transition-has-become-a-matter-of-security\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2024\/05\/16\/the-green-transition-has-become-a-matter-of-security\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2024\/05\/16\/the-green-transition-has-become-a-matter-of-security\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The green transition has become a matter of security"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/","name":"Rivista Eco","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/#\/schema\/person\/31cd15f3b5103828618dad2c28dce704","name":"Gabriella Perotto","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0372cd323204ccac0acb1c24e7fe9071247bebc2edd1e49042df3d91b9a157ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g3c90e1ce49ce17fcfc3f53edd0200f5f","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0372cd323204ccac0acb1c24e7fe9071247bebc2edd1e49042df3d91b9a157ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0372cd323204ccac0acb1c24e7fe9071247bebc2edd1e49042df3d91b9a157ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Gabriella Perotto"},"url":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/author\/gperotto\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2152","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6533"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2152"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2152\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2474,"href":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2152\/revisions\/2474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2152"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=2152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}