Green Growth

Promoting green growth is not only a necessity in times of climate change, it also offers new opportunities. Transforming our economy will safeguard existing jobs and create new jobs, for example in the renewable energy sector, in industry, in construction, in transport and in agriculture. The EU is world leader in many green technologies and a rapidly increasing demand in this sector will create new growth, helping the EU to overcome the crisis. Promoting and investing in more resource efficient production and transport and more climate conscious consumption will reduce the use of energy and raw materials and therefore increase the competitiveness of Europe’s economy.

Green growth requires ambitious and well designed policies and measures to become reality. On the European, national and regional level, regulations to promote renewable energy, energy efficiency and climate friendly products, financial tools such as green taxes, green bonds, a Financial Transaction Tax and subventions, a strong carbon market, green labelling, investments in research and development and re-skilling of the European labour force are needed. Special attention must be paid to ensure a fair transition, allowing all citizens to profit from the transformation process.

In the framework of the PES Climate Change Network, PES environment ministers meetings and other activities, the PES continuous to contribute to green growth and to define a strong vision of the social democratic family on this topic.