How an Ambitious Climate Bill Becomes a Landmark Climate Law

The story of green stimulus measures in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic is all about Europe. The bloc’s leaders agreed in July on a €750 billion ($895 billion) coronavirus rescue package, nearly a third of which would be devoted to decarbonization and promoting green technologies. That’s almost 10 times what other large economies are spending on climate-friendly stimulus, according to a September report from research firm Rhodium Group. The world hailed it as a watershed moment in climate policy, but that’s barely the half of it. The European Union’s green stimulus is bound up with the Green Deal, a plan to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions for the bloc by 2050 that will necessitate a total overhaul of the European economy and trillions of euros in new investment. When you combine what’s in the virus rescue package with the climate-related spending outlined in the bloc’s next budget to support the Green Deal, that’s more than €500 billion in EU funding alone.

While it all sounds pretty straightforward, well, this is the EU. Here’s what still needs to happen before the Green Deal is fait accompli.