On the 10th of December, young climate activists gathered on a crowded Zoom call to welcome Ms Svenja Schulze, German Federal Minister of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. Six months have passed since the first EU Presidency Youth Dialogue launched by Generation Climate Europe (GCE), the largest coalition of youth-led NGOs at the European level, and the German Presidency of the Council came to an end. In this crucial week celebrating the 5th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, when our Heads of States are expected to agree on higher climate targets, the occasion is perfect to reflect and ask: are we on the right track?

The conversation mostly revolved around a few burning topics such as emissions reduction targets and sustainable energy production, social justice, biodiversity and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and, of course, the collaboration with the younger generations. Minister Schulze enthusiastically opened up the discussion by announcing a few of the Presidency’s key successes on those matters: the Biodiversity roadmap for 2030 is approved; the Climate targets for 2030 and 2050 are now legally binding; and the agreement on a multi-annual budget and recovery package was reached. We should hear more good news on the Circular Economy Action Plan and the environmental impact of digitalisation, among other subjects by the end of the German Presidency, on the 31st of December 2020. 

“We need the new generations included in all topics. They are the experts of their own future.”

Minister Schulze

When it comes to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets, Minister Schulze conceded that an impact assessment has demonstrated high targets are within reach. So why not aim at 65% reduction by 2030 as science has called for? Cautiously avoiding our demand for more ambitious targets, the Minister still tried to be reassuring: 5 years ago, reaching -40% emissions by 2030 seemed impossible. The target was now increased to -55%, but – she added – it will not be the end of the story. Indeed, the  bottom-up approach agreed by the signatories of the Agreement requires them to level up their Nationally Determined Contribution (NDCs) every 5 years. The concrete Commission proposals to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 will be shared in the middle of 2021, but the European Council’s decision on merely -55% remains a major threat to current and next generations’ future. She insisted on the importance of producing more renewable energies, and on the crucial role played by the European carbon sinks – and preserving our old forests – to get there. 

Minister Schulze also briefly spoke about the meat production and consumption. She is of the opinion that having better and fairer conditions of production as well as a limit on the number of animals in the farms is a priority. She emphasized that meat is currently too cheap, but that there wasn’t yet an agreement on which tax policy would be most effective to tackle this challenge.

We fully agreed with Minister Schulze on the fact that the CAP is weakening the green ambitions of the Commission. But it also doesn’t seem realistic to her to simply delete it. She confirmed we need a new and better CAP, that can also push the agriculture sector to meet with the SDGs. It will hopefully be achieved in the dialogue between the Commission, the Parliament and the Member States. 

Another big topic concerning the youth of Europe is social justice. The transition we demand should be happening fast but leave no one behind. On that point, the Minister quoted the Executive Vice-President on the European Green Deal, Frans Timmermans: “There is a Just transition or there is just no transition”. Adding that the Just Transition Mechanism was especially designed to support countries and sectors in need for more help on their way to carbon neutrality. On the other hand, she considers it necessary to push for the implementation of binding climate laws and the do-not-harm principles in order to ensure that EU money does not fuel environmentally harmful projects.

“There is a just transition or there is just no transition.”

Frans Timmermans

On the importance of having young people sitting at the political table, Svenja Schulze was crystal clear: “We need the new generations included in all topics. They are the experts of their own future. We need a strong involvement of the youth.” Great, on that we definitely align. But what about having a youth delegation at the negotiation table during the next COP26 in Glasgow? That would be going too far for the Minister, who insisted that on this occasion, it wouldn’t be possible to invite during the negotiations anyone other than elected governments. Good food for thought, young people of Europe, you now know what is left for you to do!

While it is certain that the topics addressed would have needed a lot more than a few minutes to be fully covered, the event allowed us to look back at the last 6 months in a clearer way. Now that agreements on the recovery fund and new emission reduction targets have been reached, the expectations are high for the Portuguese presidency starting in January. As Minister Schulze said, “the European Green Deal is only the beginning”. Later confessing that a lot more needs to be done – notably in the field of agriculture with the CAP – to fully align with the SDGs. She can definitely count on us to keep our eyes – and mouth – wide open, to make sure we see real improvement on those topics within the next months and years. 

Portugal, the floor is soon yours. Please remember, the youth of Europe is watching you. Talk to you soon. 

Evolena de Wilde d’Estmael and Emma Pacchiodo

in case you missed the event, you can re-watch it here