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Why do we need energy transition? Why do we care for climate? Can we, as a society, take the additional burden in order to protect our planet? These and many other questions will need to be answered during the ongoing campaign to the European Parliament. In the early days of June, the Europeans will be choosing their representatives to the European Parliament, however these elections will also impact the future European Commission and its
agenda.

The 2019 elections have shaped the agenda of the EU Commission, with the Green Deal at the top of the list. The ambitious target of climate neutrality, enshrined in the EU regulation, has been at the center of discussions on EU energy and economic policy throughout the mandate. But something has changed in the final stretch. Europeans have grown tired of the additional (mostly announced, not implemented) burdens imposed on them in order to
achieve climate neutrality. Farmers, who had to bear the burden of incredibly expensive electricity and fertilizers, began to protest against the European Union’s climate policy.

The question is – what can we expect from the new Parliament and Commission? On the one hand, it was recently announced that we have passed the 2 degree threshold (for now – only in one year, but it must be treated as a red flag). Moreover, some sources claim that the EU heats up twice as much as the global climate – which means that even if we succeed in reducing the global temperature, the spectrum for the EU will increase by 4 degrees, forcing
us to change our lifestyles now. On the other hand, the protest and resistance against the climate policy must be noticed and properly addressed by the EU institutions and member states, because they are the main risks for the continuation of the EU climate policy that can help us to avoid the worst climate scenario. So what can we do? There are a million ways to answer this question, but let me share some of the food for thoughts:

• No silver bullets. We cannot stick to solutions or ideas once they have been introduced into climate policy. If there is societal resistance to some of the solutions, this must be seen as a red flag and the alternative options must be assessed and discussed – also with representatives of the affected companies or social groups.
• We need to act fast but not in rush. We are in a climate crisis – climate change is the real threat to our lives and lifestyles. However, haste is not the best advisor in such situations and sometimes a thorough discussion and assessment, even if it takes time, can bring better solutions that can help to achieve the climate policy goals in a sustainable and socially acceptable way. It is important to remember that the acceptance curve also applies to the acceptance of new policy measures, and if we manage to give society enough time to learn about the new measure (and will support them in explaining the climate measures), the acceptance rate is likely to return to its highest level.
• Union of Europeans not European Union Europeans are at the heart of the European Union, and we need to redouble or even triple our efforts to involve them in the debate on specific instruments to tackle or prevent climate risks.

This news is part of a project that has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme under grant agreement No 101081604 – PRISMA.

Views and opinions expressed are however those of the speaker(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.