Europe's New Agenda for Sustainable Growth

The key EU initiatives for the future, which build on the CEP are The European Green Deal and The New Circular Economy Action Plan

European Green Deal

In December 2019 the new EU Commission launched a European Green Deal. This initiative reconfirms the Commission’s commitment to tackling climate and environmental-related challenges which is recognised as this generation’s defining task.

The European Green Deal is a response to these challenges. It is a new growth strategy that aims to transform the EU into a fair and prosperous society, with a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy where there are no net emissions of greenhouse gases in 2050 and where economic growth is decoupled from resource use. 

New Circular Economy Action Plan

In March 2020 the EU Commission adopted a new Circular Economy Action Plan which is one of the main initiatives of the European Green Deal.

The new Action Plan announces initiatives along the entire life cycle of products, targeting for example their design, promoting circular economy processes, fostering sustainable consumption, and aiming to ensure that the resources used are kept in the EU economy for as long as possible.

The new Action Plan contains measures to:

• make sustainable products the norm in the EU;
• empower consumers and public buyers;
• focus on the sectors that use most resources and where the potential for circularity is high such as: electronics and ICT; batteries and vehicles; packaging; plastics; textiles; construction and buildings; food; water and nutrients;
• ensure less waste;
• make circularity work for people, regions and cities; and
• lead global efforts on circular economy.