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‘Fit-for-55’ package: Squaring the circle

(EurActiv, 14 Jul 2021) With its ‘Fit for 55’ climate package, the European Union finds itself at the centre of a three-dimensional puzzle. Burdens need to be shared between 450 million citizens and 25 million businesses, as well as between member states, in a way that is acceptable to enough of them, writes Georg Zachmann.

Georg Zachmann is a senior fellow at Bruegel, a Brussels-based economic think tank.

Over the course of a few years the European Union promised more and more ambitious emission reductions. This for now culminated in the climate law of 2021 that enshrines reducing emissions by about 40% in less than a decade and essentially eradicating all greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

The material consequences of this legislation – which so far has passed relatively unnoticed – will be dramatic. Most of the cars, planes and heating systems in use in the EU will have to be abolished, significant industries will have to change their century-old production processes and massive amounts of clean energy must be produced.

The next challenge is to translate European targets into the European policies needed to encourage 27 member states, 450 million Europeans and 25 million European companies to adjust their activities accordingly.

The balancing act will be to introduce policies that are sufficient to meet the ambitious targets; credible, so that all players feel they are better off following their guidance; and politically feasible, so that they have a chance to survive the lengthy European legislative process.

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EurActiv, 14 Jul 2021: ‘Fit-for-55’ package: Squaring the circle