The EU Member States’ climate and environment ministers are invited to Stockholm on Tuesday 18 and Wednesday 19 April to discuss the green transition in terms of the sustainable competitiveness of European industry and how to strengthen cooperation between policymakers and business in the context of the green transition, both at European and global level.
This informal meeting of the ‘Environment’ Council, chaired by the Swedish Minister for Climate and Environment, Romina Pourmokhtari, will be held “in an unprecedented format”, a senior European official said on Friday.
Each minister will be accompanied by leaders of pioneering green companies and the session will focus on discussions with industry to identify how they can play a leading role in a successful green transition. The Green Deal Industrial Plan will serve as a backdrop to the discussions.
On Tuesday, ministers and business representatives from all sectors - textiles, cement, tourism, food, recycling, manufacturing, etc. - will discuss the success factors and bottlenecks to overcome in order to make the green transition a success.
The opening session will focus on cross-cutting issues such as funding, investment and innovation.
The ministers and business representatives will then be divided into three groups to share their experiences and expectations on the enabling conditions, incentives and cooperation needed to overcome bottlenecks and make the green transition a success.
This will be followed by breakout sessions on biodiversity, the circular economy and the climate.
Biodiversity. With the knowledge that the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (see EUROPE 13087/3) includes reporting requirements for large companies and transnational financial institutions, the discussion will focus on the challenges and opportunities for companies to better understand and report on their dependencies and impact on biodiversity, as well as the potential risks associated with biodiversity loss.
Circular economy. The discussion will focus on the conditions to enable industry to increase the efficiency and circularity of materials in order to improve their resilience. This will include identifying the challenges and opportunities for business and whether Member State governments and the EU need to do more to help business take the necessary steps for the transition.
Climate. Discussions on European climate policies, approached through the lens of competitiveness and prosperity, is expected to focus on three issues. Firstly, this concerns the opportunities and challenges that companies will face in achieving the 2030 emissions-reduction target, particularly in the context of the ‘Fit for 55’ package.
In addition, they will address the key issues that need to be taken into account in the context of an emerging post-2030 climate policy. The Swedish Presidency believes that it is necessary to clarify how the EU will reduce its emissions beyond that timeframe. In this sense, and with a view to climate neutrality by 2050, the emission targets and legislation for 2035 and 2040 will indeed be major steps.
The final focus of the discussions will be the main obstacles to companies committing to the transition towards net zero emissions. While there has been an acceleration in investments, the Swedish Presidency calls for an immediate increase in climate change funding in the EU and in all sectors.
On Wednesday, the ministers will meet to share the learnings from the workshops with industry, after a driving exercise with buses and other electric vehicles at Trosta Park.
The lunch will be dedicated to a debate on the future UN Treaty on Plastic Pollution which is currently under negotiation (see EUROPE 13078/10). The aim is to identify how this could help to stimulate the necessary innovations, accelerate the transition to a circular economy for plastics and boost competitiveness, and how businesses can be involved. The second negotiating session of this international legally binding instrument is scheduled to take place in Paris from 29 May to 2 June. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang and Nythia Paquiry)