New paper on Sustainability & Trade

The overarching objective of the European Union’s Green Deal is to accelerate the push towards Net Zero, reduce climate change and prevent the destruction of the environment globally. Its leaders are striving to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent and position Europe as a global leader in fulfilling this environmental mission. 

Sadly, the Green Deal is currently failing in this goal since the EU has adopted the wrong strategy to achieve this objective. At the same time trade barriers are being erected while potential trading partners are being ignored and antagonised.

This paper argues that the EU would instead be better served leading by example, rather than diktat. Building a global consensus would also be more powerful and sustainable. This would include establishing a dialogue and engaging countries in the regulatory and standard-setting process. Going further, this should cover the recognition of global norms and underline that countries have differentiated levels of responsibility in reaching the overall objective.