Presenter 1: Mohsen Shaeyan
Title: Firms and Energy Transition: Evidence from Germany
Abstract: This paper examines the impact of energy-related investments on firms’ energy transition and the factors driving these investments. We develop a theoretical model of firms' energy mix decisions and, based on that, derive an empirical framework to analyze how investments influence energy substitution. Using German firm-level data (2006–2018), we find that energy investments accelerate the shift to cleaner energy sources, reduce fossil fuel reliance, and generate spillover effects across firms and regions, driving industrial decarbonization.
Presenter 2: Eric Ponthieu
Title: Re-boosting the weakened European Green Deal with two indispensable policy changes
Abstract:
The new European Commission (2024-2029) has pledged that it will “stay the course on the goals set out in the European Green Deal (EGD)”. The EC is right to affirm that this objective remains essential despite the recent shift of political priorities from sustainability to security, defence and competitiveness. However, for delivering on the ambitious EGD goals, the EC will have to overcome a certain number of obstacles that are inherent to the shortcomings of the laws that were adopted in the former legislative period (2019-2024).
Two main weaknesses of the EGD will be discussed:
- The declining public demand for environmental and climate protection: Until today, the main raison d’être of EC’s action on the European Green Deal (EGD) has been the strong public demand for protection against the consequences of climate change. In a July 2023 Eurobarometer on climate change, 67% of EU citizens said that their national government was not doing enough to tackle climate change. However, the 2024 European Parliament elections saw a decline in support for national green parties. The Greens/European Free Alliance secured only 7.36% of the total seats, a decrease compared to previous election. The overall trend showed a rise in support for right-wing and conservative parties, with many young people voting for these parties, in strong contrast with the 2019 EP elections when green parties benefitted from the youth movement of Fridays for Future. The EU decision-makers are increasingly confronted with the reality check of the changes provoked by the various legislations of the EGD, especially with regard to pricing. In the long run, public support is far from being guaranteed, especially when citizens are exposed to massive disinformation by non-traditional media and populist/right-wing parties. The question is: how could public support be durably boosted so that EU decision-makers could continue to do the necessary legislative adaptations to smoothen EGD implementation and maximise economic and social opportunities, especially for the most vulnerable citizens and stakeholders? The role of art and culture will be outlined.
- The EU centric approach of the EGD does too little to encourage cooperation with non-EU countries and in particular with countries from the Global South: The EU cannot pretend to be the world leader in climate protection if its climate policies are creating so much injustice and negative externalities throughout the world. It cannot build the success of its environmental policies by outsourcing the negative consequences of the production of a larger and larger share of products and services it consumes. It cannot further encourage the unsustainable export-based model of third countries which place them in an endless race to the bottom with devastating consequences. The EGD is myopic to the continuing increase of the EU consumption which relies almost entirely on outsourcing production to other countries that are forced to compete, in a race to the bottom, to maintain EU market shares. If the EU can partly clean his home socially and environmentally, it is because it is transferring the negative externalities to other countries. A more just and fair cooperation with producing countries must become part of the EGD. In 2023, the Fair Trade Advocacy Office (FTAO) proposed to transform the EGD into a Global Green Deal, a move that is even more necessary at the time the EU is in a geopolitical and geoeconomic turmoil.