Innovation, Investment, Infrastructure and sector Integration: Transformative policies for a climate neutral European Union
To achieve climate neutrality by 2050, EU policy will have to be reoriented – from incremental towards structural change. It needs to rapidly achieve climate neutrality across the economy in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement (PA), while delivering on a broad range of issues from competitiveness and productivity to employment, health and the broader environment. The European Green Deal proposed by the European Commission captures this overarching narrative. However, to mobilise the creative, financial and political resources required to achieve the transformational change, the EU also needs an effective governance framework. This should facilitate deep cross-sectoral policy integration and allow citizens as well as stakeholders at different levels of governance to actively participate in the process of bringing the necessary changes about and ‘own’ the results.
4I-TRACTION analyses what transformative policy to realise climate neutrality could look like for the EU. Based on a stocktake of existing climate policies and their performance, it will spell out a number of policy avenues and an overarching governance framework, to describe how the current mix of EU climate and energy policies can and needs to evolve in the 2020s to set course for climate neutrality by 2050. The analysis will be structured around four cross-cutting core challenges, the “four I’s”: 1) fostering breakthrough Innovation, 2) shifting Investment and finance, 3) rolling out the Infrastructure for a climate neutral and resilient economy, and 4) Integrating solutions across sectors. This structure reflects that a systemic transformation will need to evolve beyond sectoral policy approaches. Incorporating scientific insights and policies from outside the EU as well as examining how the EU’s efforts interact with those of other key countries, the analysis will also include the global context. It will do so through analysis that is thoroughly grounded in science, but is also aligned with the EU’s dynamic political environment, factoring in real-life constraints, political feasibility and the need for societal support. To receive input, provide feedback and validate conclusions, the project will closely engage with a set of stakeholders throughout its lifespan. The 4I-TRACTION consortium brings together a set of partners of scientific distinction from different Member States, which cover all elements of the project concept with their respective areas of expertise.
The consortium is a diverse group of think tanks, universities and SMEs from Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, France, Belgium, Finland and Spain.
Namely: Ecologic Institut, Climate Analytics, Ce Delft, Wiseeuropa, I4ce, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Ita- Suomen Yliopisto, Wageningen University, University of Vigo – School of Economics and Business Administration