A total of 180 members of the European Parliament, CEOs of various companies, NGOs and trade unions have launched what they call as the Green Recovery Alliance to lobby for the European Union (EU) to ensure green principles are at the heart of the EU's financial recovery plans post COVID-19 pandemic triggered slowdown.
Launched at the behest of the President of the Environment Commission of the European Parliament, Pascal Canfin, the alliance announced itself in a 2-page document available in a tweet of Canfin, calling for mobilization of resources to rebuild the European economy around green principles.
"Projects such as the European Green Deal, and other national zero carbon development plans have a huge potential to build back our economy and contribute to creating a new prosperity model. We therefore consider that we need to prepare Europe for the future, and design recovery plans, both at the local, national and at the EU level, enshrining the fight against climate change as the core of the economic strategy," reads the letter. "The time has come to turn these plans into actions and investments that will change the life of citizens and contribute to the quick recovery of our economies and our societies."
The list comprises 79 cross-party MEP's from 17 member states, 37 CEO'S, 28 business associations representing 10 different sectors, trade union confederation representing members from 90 national trade union organisations and 10 federal union federations, 7 NGOs and 6 think tanks. These signatories say they will work together to support and implement the establishment of Green Recovery Investment Packages. They will also share knowledge, exchange expertise, and create synergies to deliver the investment decisions needed.
Some of the corporate biggies in the list include L'Oreal, The Lego Group, Coca Cola, Ikea, Unilever, PepsiCo, Nestle, H&M, among others.
The European Green Deal, whose final proposal was presented by the European Commission in March 2020, targets the continent to achieve carbon neutral status by 2050, but it was criticized for missing an intermediate target for 2030.