Sustainability challenges

To achieve its ambitious environmental and climate goals, through a socially just transition, Europe needs to radically change the systems of production and consumption such as food, energy and mobility systems.

Environmental issues are inseparable from broader sustainability issues, such as social and economic issues. Significant changes in any one dimension (e.g. environmental) will affect the others (e.g. socio-economic). Changes in the way we produce energy, for example, moving away from fossil fuels, can leave whole regions which were dependent on coal mining prey to unemployment and poverty — if the socio-economic dimensions are not factored in (by retraining the workforce, investing in new workplaces and so on).

The change cannot come from traditional policy responses alone or just from a change in technologies. To avoid lock-ins, consumption patterns, individual and collective behaviours and mentalities need to change as well, moving away from consumerism, individualism and short-termism. For example, changes like moving away from owning a car towards ridesharing or using public transportation can be difficult to adopt for individuals, and car producers could lobby against the new solutions.

Strong coordination is needed among the international community. Achieving climate neutrality in Europe by 2050 will have only a limited effect on climate change mitigation if other countries do not take similar action. International agreements, such as the Paris Agreement and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, and Sustainable Development Goals are key to global action.

Achieving the EU’s sustainability goals may also trigger transboundary effects: it can potentially lead to the externalisation of the same environmental problems, through imports and exports.