EU PROMOTES GREEN ECONOMIC GROWTH
IN ORDER TO QUICKLY EMERGE FROM THE SHADOW OF THE EPIDEMIC, THE EU WILL PROMOTE GREEN TRANSFORMATION AS ONE OF THE CORE ECONOMIC RECOVERY PLANS, AND CONTINUE TO LAUNCH MULTIPLE NEW POLICY MEASURES UNDER THE FRAMEWORK OF THE "GREEN NEW DEAL", AIMING TO FURTHER ENHANCE THE RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY OF ECONOMIC GROWTH.RECENTLY, THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND EU MEMBER STATES HAVE FINALLY REACHED AN AGREEMENT ON THE "NEXT GENERATION EU" REVITALIZATION PLAN. IN THIS LONG-TERM INVESTMENT PLAN WITH A TOTAL AMOUNT OF OVER 1.8 TRILLION EUROS, 37% OF THE FUNDS WILL BE INVESTED IN AREAS DIRECTLY RELATED TO GREEN TRANSFORMATION GOALS.VON DER LEYEN, PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, SAID THAT THE EU'S ADOPTION OF GREEN TRANSFORMATION AS A NEW GROWTH STRATEGY FOR THE EUROPEAN ECONOMY WILL PROMOTE ITS OWN DEVELOPMENT TOWARDS A MORE EQUITABLE, EFFICIENT AND SUSTAINABLE DIRECTION, AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE OVERALL COMPETITIVENESS OF THE EU.GREEN RECOVERY POLICIES CONTINUE TO BE INTRODUCEDTHE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RECENTLY VOTED TO FURTHER INCREASE CLIMATE LAW EMISSION REDUCTION TARGETS, SUPPORTING A 60% REDUCTION IN THE EU'S 2030 CARBON EMISSIONS FROM 1990 LEVELS. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME IN A SHORT PERIOD THAT EU INSTITUTIONS HAVE ADJUSTED THEIR EMISSION REDUCTION TARGETS. THE OUTSIDE WORLD BELIEVES THAT THIS MOVE DEMONSTRATES THE EU'S DETERMINATION ON THE ISSUE OF GREEN TRANSFORMATION. IN THE COMING YEAR, THE EU WILL CONTINUE TO ACCELERATE THE PROCESS OF CLIMATE AND ENERGY LEGISLATION, AND WILL FOCUS ON PROMOTING THE REFORM OF CARBON EMISSIONS TRADING MECHANISMS AND ADJUSTING ENERGY TAXES.SINCE THE OUTBREAK OF THE EPIDEMIC, THE EUROPEAN UNION HAS INTRODUCED MULTIPLE SUPPORTIVE POLICIES TO PROMOTE GREEN ECONOMIC RECOVERY. IN MARCH OF THIS YEAR, THE EUROPEAN UNION ANNOUNCED A NEW INDUSTRIAL POLICY, FOCUSING ON MODERNIZING AND UPGRADING ENERGY INTENSIVE INDUSTRIES SUCH AS STEEL AND CEMENT. AT THE SAME TIME, THROUGH SUSTAINABLE PRODUCT POLICIES, THE RECYCLING AND REUSE RATES OF TEXTILES, PLASTICS, ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS, AND OTHER FIELDS WILL BE INCREASED. THE EU HAS ALSO ANNOUNCED A BUILDING RENOVATION PLAN AIMED AT IMPROVING THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY OF EXISTING BUILDINGS, WITH PLANS TO CARRY OUT ENERGY-SAVING RENOVATIONS ON 35 MILLION BUILDINGS OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS.IN RESPONSE TO THE INCREASING PRESSURE ON EUROPEAN FINANCIAL MARKETS UNDER THE PANDEMIC, THE EU PLANS TO ESTABLISH MULTIPLE SPECIAL FUNDS IN THE NEXT PHASE TO SUPPORT GREEN TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION. EUROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK PRESIDENT HOYLE STATED THAT THE FINANCIAL SECTOR WILL PLAY AN IRREPLACEABLE AND IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE GREEN RECOVERY PROCESS. AS A PUBLIC FINANCIAL INSTITUTION, THE EUROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK WILL CONTRIBUTE TO ACHIEVING CARBON NEUTRALITY GOALS AND ENHANCING ECONOMIC RESILIENCE AND INCLUSIVENESS.SIMONE TAGLIAPETRA, AN EXPERT AT THE BRUEGEL INSTITUTE FOR ECONOMIC RESEARCH IN BELGIUM, STATED THAT THE EU'S ECONOMIC GREEN RECOVERY PLAN COVERS VARIOUS ASPECTS SUCH AS INDUSTRY, AGRICULTURE, TRADE, AND FINANCE, AND WILL HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON THE EU'S FUTURE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MODEL AND INVESTMENT DIRECTION.RELATED GREEN INDUSTRIES ARE GROWING AGAINST THE TRENDAFFECTED BY THE EPIDEMIC, THE OVERALL EUROPEAN ECONOMY HAS BEEN WEAK THIS YEAR, BUT RELATED GREEN INDUSTRIES HAVE SHOWN A GOOD MOMENTUM OF COUNTER TREND GROWTH.WHILE OVERALL ENERGY DEMAND IS DECLINING, THE PROPORTION OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN THE EU HAS REACHED A HISTORIC HIGH, WITH A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE UTILIZATION OF CLEAN ENERGY SUCH AS SOLAR AND WIND POWER. THE EU'S ENERGY STRUCTURE IS GRADUALLY SHIFTING FROM TRADITIONAL FOSSIL FUELS TO A DIVERSIFIED STRUCTURE.ACCORDING TO THE RECENT ANNUAL ENERGY REPORT RELEASED BY THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, THE PROPORTION OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN THE TOTAL ENERGY CONSUMPTION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION IS EXPECTED TO REACH 22.8% -23.1% BY THE END OF 2020, AND IS EXPECTED TO FURTHER INCREASE TO 32% BY 2030. IN THE NEXT 10 YEARS, THE EU WILL USHER IN A PERIOD OF RAPID DEVELOPMENT IN RELATED GREEN ECONOMY FIELDS SUCH AS SMART GRIDS, OFFSHORE RENEWABLE ENERGY, AND HYDROGEN ENERGY.ACCORDING TO THE LATEST REPORT FROM THE EUROPEAN AUTOMOBILE MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION, THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW ENERGY VEHICLES IN EUROPE HAS BEEN RAPID IN 2020, INFLUENCED BY THE EU'S NEW EMISSION STANDARDS AND STIMULUS POLICIES FROM MEMBER STATE GOVERNMENTS. IN THE THIRD QUARTER OF 2020, ELECTRIC VEHICLE SALES ACCOUNTED FOR 9.9% OF TOTAL NEW VEHICLE SALES WITHIN THE EU, AN INCREASE OF NEARLY THREE TIMES COMPARED TO THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR, REACHING 273000 UNITS. IT IS EXPECTED THAT THE MARKET SHARE OF NEW ENERGY VEHICLES IN THE EU WILL DOUBLE IN 2020, WITH TOTAL SALES EXCEEDING ONE MILLION UNITS. AS OF NOW, THERE ARE APPROXIMATELY 2 MILLION ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN EUROPE, AND IT IS EXPECTED THAT THIS NUMBER WILL EXCEED 40 MILLION BY 2030. THE EUROPEAN ELECTRIC VEHICLE INDUSTRY HAS ENTERED A FAST LANE OF DEVELOPMENT.THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION PREDICTS THAT BY 2050, GREEN TRANSFORMATION IN THE ENERGY SECTOR ALONE COULD CREATE AN ADDITIONAL 3 MILLION JOBS ON TOP OF 2020. ACCORDING TO DATA FROM THE OECD, THERE ARE CURRENTLY UP TO 3.5 MILLION JOBS RELATED TO THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY WITHIN THE EU. IF THE RECYCLING RATE INCREASES FROM THE CURRENT 50% TO 70% IN THE FUTURE, AN ADDITIONAL 500000 JOBS WILL BE CREATED OVERALL.THE SIGNIFICANCE OF DEVELOPING A GREEN ECONOMY IS SIGNIFICANTVON DER LEYEN SAID THAT IT IS OF GREAT SIGNIFICANCE TO PROMOTE GREEN TRANSFORMATION AND POST EPIDEMIC ECONOMIC RECOVERY, WHICH WILL RESHAPE THE SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND ECOLOGICAL ARCHITECTURE OF EUROPE IN THE COMING DECADES OF DEVELOPMENT.ACCORDING TO A RESEARCH REPORT BY THE GREEN PARTY CAUCUS OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, PROMOTING ECONOMIC GREEN TRANSFORMATION CAN NOT ONLY REDUCE THE EU'S EXTERNAL DEPENDENCE, ENHANCE ECONOMIC RESILIENCE AND SUPPLY CHAIN SECURITY, BUT ALSO BRING ENORMOUS DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL AND SPACE TO THE EU. RESEARCH SHOWS THAT DEVELOPING A GREEN ECONOMY WILL INCREASE THE EU'S EXPORTS BY AT LEAST 25 BILLION EUROS ANNUALLY AND SAVE UP TO 350 BILLION EUROS IN ENERGY COSTS ANNUALLY. THE IMPROVEMENT OF RESOURCE EFFICIENCY WILL SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE THE PRODUCTION COST OF PRODUCTS AND EFFECTIVELY ENHANCE THE INTERNATIONAL MARKET COMPETITIVENESS OF EUROPEAN ENTERPRISES. AT THE SAME TIME, GREEN TRANSFORMATION WILL ALSO BRING ABOUT THE UPGRADING AND INTEGRATION OF THE ENTIRE VALUE CHAIN, CREATING MILLIONS OF NEW HIGH-QUALITY EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES.EXPERTS HAVE POINTED OUT THAT THE EU'S EFFORTS TO PROMOTE GREEN TRANSFORMATION WILL ALSO FACE CONSTRAINTS SUCH AS INSUFFICIENT FUNDING. ACCORDING TO THE ASSESSMENT OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, IF THE 2030 CLIMATE GOALS ARE ACHIEVED AS SCHEDULED, THE EU WOULD NEED AN ADDITIONAL INVESTMENT OF AN AVERAGE OF 260 BILLION EUROS PER YEAR. THE EU'S OWN PUBLIC FINANCIAL SUPPORT IS AROUND 100 BILLION EUROS PER YEAR, AND THE FUNDING GAP NEEDS TO BE FILLED BY ENCOURAGING MEMBER STATE GOVERNMENTS AND PRIVATE ENTERPRISES TO INCREASE INVESTMENT. IN ADDITION, THE PUBLIC'S ACCEPTANCE OF EU RELATED POLICIES IS ALSO CRUCIAL TO THE SUCCESS OF GREEN TRANSFORMATION.BEN MICHAEL WILLIAMS, AN EXPERT AT THE BRUEGEL INSTITUTE FOR ECONOMIC RESEARCH IN BELGIUM, BELIEVES THAT DEVELOPING RELEVANT STANDARDS AND MARKET ORIENTATION THAT ARE IN LINE WITH GREEN TRANSFORMATION IS CRUCIAL FOR ACHIEVING A GREEN RECOVERY IN THE EU ECONOMY. POLICY MAKERS NEED TO SEND CLEAR SIGNALS THROUGH STIMULUS POLICIES TO MAKE INVESTORS AWARE OF THE HIGHER EXPECTED RETURNS OF LOW-CARBON ECONOMIC INVESTMENTS, THEREBY EFFECTIVELY ATTRACTING PRIVATE SECTOR INVESTMENT. FOR THE EU, FURTHER REFORM OF THE CARBON EMISSIONS TRADING SYSTEM, ADJUSTMENT OF CARBON EMISSION PRICES, AND FORMULATION OF ENERGY TAX GUIDANCE WILL BE EFFECTIVE POLICY PILLARS TO STIMULATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF GREEN ECONOMY.GREGORY KRESS, AN EXPERT ON GREEN ECONOMY ISSUES IN EUROPE, STATED THAT THE EU NEEDS TO ACHIEVE ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION BY EFFECTIVELY GUIDING THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MODEL AND INDUSTRIAL MODERNIZATION DIRECTION, WHILE SEEKING A BALANCE BETWEEN SHORT-TERM ECONOMIC NEEDS AND LONG-TERM STRUCTURAL REFORMS IN THE PROCESS OF ECONOMIC RECOVERY.