“The war in Ukraine will not stop the decarbonization of the economy; Unlike”

Virginijus Sinkevicius (Vilnius, Lithuania, 1990) due to his age could be one of the young people who demonstrated in the streets of Paris during the celebration of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP21) in 2015. At that time, he barely had 25 years. Now, this young Lithuanian is responsible for monitoring Europe’s steps towards a more sustainable Union; For almost three years he has been the Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, one of the portfolios with the most weight in the community government.

-Because of his age, he could be part of ‘Youth for Climate’. Which of her claims could he make his own?

-I think my age was one of the reasons why this bag was suggested to me. The climate crisis is not something abstract for me, because I will have to live it. I will see the world in 2050 and have the opportunity to change dangerous trends and contribute to efforts to save a habitable planet for future generations. The climate crisis can only be solved if the problem is evaluated from many angles and solutions are sought from various perspectives. This not only has to do with emissions, but also with the loss of biodiversity, pollution or the depletion of resources, we have to face all the challenges.

-Many young people began in 2018 to demand more political action. Now that you are in the place where decisions are being made, what do you have to tell them?

-First of all, I want to thank you, because without your voice, without your claims and protests, we might not have the European Green Deal. I can promise that we will continue to move forward, as it is the European Union’s growth strategy until 2050 and it must be applied for us and for generations to come.

-For the first time since World War II, the European continent suffers a war on its territory. Does Brussels fear that it is a step backwards in the decarbonization of the economy?

-Russian aggression against Ukraine will not have negative effects on the application of the European Green Deal. On the contrary, this war has shown that our dependence on Russian fossil fuels cannot last any longer. We have to stop supporting the Russian military budget by paying for fossil fuels. By cutting off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria and blackmailing the entire Union, Russia has once again shown that it is an unreliable gas supplier. We are going to reduce Russia’s gas imports by two-thirds still this year and it will become independent of Russian fossil fuels well before 2030.

-Is the ‘Green Deal’ roadmap being fulfilled? Will we reach the Paris Agreements on time or will we have to reschedule them?

-The ‘Green Deal’ is unequivocally one of the main political objectives of the European Union. It was conceived from the outset as the Union’s growth strategy, leading us to a sustainable, modern, competitive and resilient economy and society. Climate, energy and environmental objectives are set by law. We know that the costs of inaction far outweigh the costs associated with the green transition. The latest IPCC report makes it abundantly clear: the window to secure a livable future is rapidly closing: to keep the 1.5°C target within reach, we need to accelerate implementation of the Paris Agreement. We cannot continue to delay concerted action.

-Can you identify the main environmental problem that Europe is currently facing?

-In Europe, as in the rest of the world, we face the triple threat of climate change, loss of biodiversity and pollution. All three crises are driven by unsustainable economic models and our excessive use of natural resources. They threaten our health, our economy and our social fabric. One of the problems that I see globally is that the interconnectedness of these crises is not recognized. Climate change is a buzzword, but it cannot be tackled in isolation. We have to go beyond the focus on energy and emissions and look at the bigger picture. We need to understand the mitigating role that oceans and ecosystems play, and do more to ensure that they continue to play that role. We also have to reap the benefits of the transition to the circular economy.

He is very ambitious…

-Our response to these crises is an existential question, and has to recognize both its urgency and its connections. It has to include all economic sectors and all the actors in our societies. We need you to join forces to achieve a zero-carbon, nature-positive and equitable economy. The Green Deal frames a response to this triple crisis. We can accelerate this transition by rapidly scaling up technology solutions, nature-based solutions, and social solutions. Many already exist, but we need to use them more widely and on a much larger scale.

–
In Spain, the Congress of Deputies has recently approved the Waste Law: is it sufficiently ambitious in terms of European objectives?

-We welcome the new Spanish law, which applies community legislation and we appreciate the quality and the level of ambition that it wants to achieve. I am looking forward to seeing the implementation of the law and the positive impact it will have on improving waste management in Spain.

-Are you worried that, for example, the reduction of single-use plastics is left behind in your roadmap?

-We are currently evaluating the completeness and conformity of the transposition of the directive on single-use plastics in all Member States. It is too early to say to what extent individual Member States are carrying out the transposition and implementation of the directive. The European Commission has recently updated its plans for a circular economy, one of the pillars of the ‘Green Deal’, focusing on two aspects: ‘greenwashing’ and the textile sector. The latter, in particular, is one of the main responsible for the arrival of microplastics in rivers and seas.

-What are the plans to tackle this problem?

-Textiles made with synthetic fibers, such as polyester and acrylic, are one of the main sources of inadvertent release of microplastics into the environment. These are shed at different stages of the textiles life cycle. We will try to address the design of products, the improvement of manufacturing processes, pre-washing in industrial manufacturing plants, labeling and the promotion of innovative materials. As such, it will have direct effects on the textile industry and market.

-On toxics, Brussels has approved the roadmap for the prohibition of chemical substances in the European Union. Environmentalists have applauded this list, which they estimate could affect almost 12,000 substances. Does inclusion on this list mean an outright ban?

-The inclusion in the REACH restrictions roadmap indicates that these substances will be banned or restricted in the coming years. We want to increase the speed of imposing restrictions on these very harmful chemicals, and further our journey towards a toxic-free environment, and we will do so by restricting entire groups as promised in the 2020 Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability. The Commission has prepared the roadmap to prioritize some of these most harmful substances for group restrictions.