Climate and energy transitions in times of environmental backlash? The EU ‘Green Deal' from adoption to implementation

Riding on the 2019-2020 wave of climate mobilisations, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made climate commitments one of its core priorities with the launch of its ‘Green Deal’. To deliver on the flagship targets of reducing net Green House Gas Emissions by 55% by 2030 and achieving net zero emissions by 2050, the EU has been finalising the adoption of its ‘Fit for 55’ legislative package before a change of leadership and a new Parliament starts its work. Yet, since the launch at the ‘Green Deal’, the political momentum for climate and environmental ambitions has faltered. Russia’s war on Ukraine and concerns about the security of European energy supplies have favoured the search for alternative fossil fuel suppliers and development of new fossil fuel infrastructures. In parallel, cost of living and economic concerns have also been instrumentalised to challenge green policies, both at national and EU levels. This article asks whether these new challenges represent a risk to the implementation of the ‘Green Deal’ and to the EU’s future ambitions on climate and the energy transition. It concludes that while the energy and climate transition agenda is likely to prove resilient, its framing and focus may be changing in a context of domestic politicisation of the climate and energy transition and global geopolitical competition.