The changes proposed “are worse than anyone expected, with the European Commission continuing on its path of self-destruction, with indubitable impact on the European Union’s nature, the health of its ecosystems and the functionality of its ecosystem services,” Ioannis Agapakis, a lawyer with environmental legal charity ClientEarth, said in a statement.
The disagreement highlights a fundamental contradiction in the environmental movement. Those who see climate change as the biggest threat to the planet argue we must be building clean alternatives to fossil fuels at breakneck speed. That inevitably means chopping down trees, tearing up the earth and upsetting habitats to build the necessary power lines, renewables and critical mineral mines that underpin the transition.
But many green advocates and scientists insist biodiversity loss is a crisis as severe as global warming, even if it hasn’t yet got the recognition it deserves. Sacrificing nature for low-carbon energy is a risky strategy, they warn, especially as nature plays a key role in mitigating the impact of climate change.
Nature vs. grids
The Commission said Wednesday it would relax environmental permitting rules across multiple laws to allow speedier permitting of electricity grids, renewable energy and hydrogen pipelines — part of a sweeping package of reforms to expand the capacity of continent’s energy networks.
Renewables groups said the changes would allow them to build more solar panels, wind turbines and batteries.
“I would like to congratulate the Commission for highlighting the sense of urgency and necessity of grid investments and the key tools to accelerate them: prioritizing critical projects to reduce bottlenecks, speeding up permitting procedures and incentivizing investments through stable regulatory frameworks,” said Ignacio Galán, executive chairman of wind energy company Iberdrola.