This week ministers from the Party of European Socialists gathered in Luxembourg for a meeting ahead of the Environment Council. A key focus for PES ministers was the circularity requirements for vehicle design and the management of end-of-life vehicles, the EU’s positioning ahead of COP30, and how to make the green agenda appealing to voters and a winning strategy in future European elections. The PES has been at the forefront of keeping the EU on track to not only uphold its climate commitments, but also to ensure that no one is left behind in the green transition.
This is a key mission of our political family, especially with the EPP in the European Parliament that has been siding with the far right in the European Parliament to water down key climate policies or by attacking the work and funding of environmental NGOs.
Carsten Schneider, Federal Minister for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety, and chair of the meeting said:
‘‘This year, we mark 10 years since the UN Climate Paris Agreement, an agreement for which our family played a key role, and a turning point in climate policies.
However, despite the great strides and progress made towards building a greener and healthier world for the generations to come, the green agenda finds itself sailing through perilous waters, and the challenges we face today are greater than ever.
In recent years, we have witnessed a trend of climate denialism and a backlash of our fight against climate change with false narratives from the far-right.
This is why our parties need to highlight the strong health, environmental, and economic benefits of the transition. We need to encourage citizens to trust us that moving forward towards a better future is only possible through renewable energy and protection of our environment. At the same time, we owe it to our citizens to make it socially fair.
Therefore, the EU 2040 target is a decisive decision to jointly move forward.
The EU must show leadership at COP30 and its commitment to international climate action and multilateralism. To do so, it must meet the September NDC deadline and establish intermediary objectives to stay on track to 2050 climate neutrality.”
The return of Donald Trump to the White House has only exacerbated this issue and fuelled the populist fire of climate denialism and clouded the view of the public with disinformation about the green agenda.
10 years ago, PES leaders in Paris met ahead of COP21 to sign a joint declaration on “21 Progressive Proposals for COP21”, which called for an ambitious, universal, and legally binding agreement to secure a sustainable future for all, that being the Paris Agreement. 10 years later, the PES, together with the rest of the European Socialists and Democrats, remain dedicated to fighting for a sustainable, pollution-free environment and calling for ambitious and bold proposals to address the climate emergency.
During the meeting, ministers also discussed the road ahead in the field of circularity requirements for vehicle design, the management of end-of-life vehicles, and the future of electric vehicles.
The meeting concluded with a discussion on how to make green politics a winning strategy for future elections.
This meeting was attended by:
- Chair – Carsten Schneider, Federal Minister for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety, Germany
- Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice President, European Commission, Spain
- Manol Genov, Minister of Environment and Water, Bulgaria
- Maria Panayiotou, Minister for Agriculture, Rural Development, and Environment, Cyprus
