Lecture | European Union Seminar
Balancing the climate, economy, and justice: Can the EU have it all?
- Mohammed Chahim (Member of the European Parliament)
- Date
- Friday 11 October 2024
- Time
- Series
- European Union Seminar Series
- Location
-
Lipsius
Cleveringaplaats 1
2311 BD Leiden - Room
- 1.47
The European Green Deal was launched in 2020 with a great promise: to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. Since then, however, the EU’s climate ambitions have been tested by rising energy prices, geopolitical concerns, domestic political opposition, and uncertain finances. The challenge of ensuring a just green transition at home is made all the more difficult by lack of cooperation from EU’s major trading partners. Can the EU still hold on to its ambitious agenda, and bring others along? Or will it get mired in trade wars and accusations of ‘green protectionism’? In this EU Seminar we are joined by Mr. Mohammed Chahim, Member of the European Parliament for GroenLinks-PvdA to discuss his work on the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), a deceptively technical-sounding piece of legislation that has sparked considerable controversy between the EU and its trading partners. By attempting to achieve an equalization of the price of carbon paid by EU companies and those exporting goods to the EU, CBAM has caused thorny disputes over differing climate ambitions, the responsibility of developed countries towards developing ones, justice in international trade, and the resilience of global international institutions. In this talk, MEP Chahim reflects on the challenges the EU faces in charting its course towards a just green transition in an increasingly divided world.
About the speaker
Mohammed Chahim is a Member of the European Parliament for GroenLinks-PvdA, currently serving his second mandate as an MEP. He is the vice-president of the Socialists and Democrats group, responsible for Green Deal on Industry, Energy & Climate and Financing the Just Transition. He is a member of the Committee for Environment, Public Health, and Food Safety. In his previous mandate, he has served as the rapporteur for the regulation establishing the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
