About a year ago, the European Commission adopted the European Green Deal, a transformative agenda for prosperity, the well-being of people and a healthy planet, where environmental, economic and social sustainability go hand in hand. A few weeks later, the world was shaken by the COVID-19 crisis, but this did not undermine the EU’s ambition. On the contrary, President von der Leyen reconfirmed the Green Deal as our roadmap for a green and inclusive recovery.

Beyond the short-term response to the crisis, the European Green Deal offers an opportunity to build back better. Indeed, the trillion-dollar response to the COVID-19 crisis should contribute towards building greener and more resilient societies and economies for the coming decades. However, the Green Deal’s ambitions will not be achieved by Europe acting alone; the EU is engaging with partners to foster the green and fair transition globally. And we are already translating these ambitions into concrete commitments.

In one year, a series of policy documents have been adopted that give a clear mandate for EU external action and contain specific commitments in terms of engagement with partners and mainstreaming of the Green Deal priorities into EU international partnerships. They include the Just Transition Mechanism and the Sustainable Europe Investment Plan, the EU climate law and related emissions reduction targets, the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030, the Farm to Fork strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system, the circular economy action plan for a cleaner and more competitive Europe, the EU taxonomy on sustainable investments, the climate target plan, the chemicals strategy for sustainability, the Renovation Wave and the methane strategies, the offshore renewable energy strategy, the climate pact and the EU strategy for smart and sustainable mobility.

More initiatives are yet to come, including: the renewed strategy for sustainable finance, the New Leipzig Charter (on the transformative power of cities), the EU zero pollution action plan, the EU forest strategy, the EU adaptation strategy and Fit for 55 (climate target-related measures).

It is now time to implement these policies and related commitments: the programming of our cooperation for 2021-2027 offers a unique opportunity to promote ambitious green partnerships with our partners around the world. The new financing instrument for external action, the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI), is expected to be adopted shortly. With climate spending targets (30 %), a contribution to the overall MFF biodiversity target (7.5 % for biodiversity from 2024 rising to 10 % from 2026 onwards) and the obligation to integrate climate and environment effectively across all interventions, the NDICI should make the green transition a reality. With the programming exercise currently underway, it is important to set the right path. We need to make sure that all actions are aligned with the Green Deal’s ambitions and contribute to the transition towards green, low-carbon and fair economies and societies. Our partnerships should focus on transformative sectors which can maximise our long-term impact, on people, prosperity and our planet. Secondly, joining forces will be key. With the Team Europe initiatives (TEIs), we have the opportunity to effect lasting change. It is promising to see that EU Delegations have proposed around 80 TEIs focusing on the Green Deal. The challenge is now to consolidate these proposals in programming and make sure that integrated responses benefit nature and people.

2021 should be a super year for nature. The EU’s engagement in partner countries will be mirrored by our engagement globally to reach ambitious agreements at the upcoming Conferences of the Parties on climate change and biodiversity.

For more information, the Green Deal’s first birthday checklist is available at: https://bit.ly/3hVnJin