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(Mixed noun) Strong opposition to environmental policy. Not to be confused with “greenwashing”, “green silence” or “green wishes”
It seems like just yesterday that the big march on green policy happened. If it’s not the US passing the biggest climate law in the country’s history, it’s the EU legislating the world’s first major carbon border tax, or the UK pledging to stop selling new petrol and diesel cars by 2030.
Europe’s green progress is particularly striking. By 2022, renewable energy generation in the EU is booming, with solar and wind energy surpassing natural gas for the first time. EU emissions fell by 8% in 2023, the largest annual fall in decades since 2020.
But as climate pledges become a reality, inflation is raising concerns about the cost of living. Net-zero-sceptic populist parties have seized on these opportunities to denounce green policies as costly elitist plots against working people.
As 2023 enters 2024, the green journey begins to run into trouble. Companies abandon green goals. Germany has played down a controversial heat pump law that helped push the far-right French Development Party (AFD) to above 20% in polls. Brussels scraps plan to halve pesticide use. The Greens suffered a heavy blow in June’s European Parliament elections.
In the UK, the previous Conservative government delayed a ban on new petrol and diesel cars until 2035.
However, the Conservatives still suffered a crushing electoral defeat at the hands of Labour, which pledged to restore the 2030 target and remain committed to an ambitious decarbonisation agenda.
This reminds us that the green wave has limits, and so does China’s relentless pursuit of green energy dominance. But with the incoming Trump administration expected to reverse climate policy and Europe’s populism showing no signs of abating, it’s clear that fraught green politics is by no means over.
pilita.clark@ft.com
