Driving the Net-Zero Agenda

Pieter Cleppe | 20th August 2025 | Brussels, Trade Associations
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - NOVEMBER 12: A Delegate checks his phone outside the European Union side event stand at COP26 as negotiations continue on November 12, 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland. Day thirteen of the 2021 COP26 climate summit in Glasgow will focus on advancing action in the places we live, from communities to cities and regions. This is the 26th "Conference of the Parties" and represents a gathering of all the countries signed on to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Climate Agreement. The aim of this year's conference is to commit countries to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - NOVEMBER 12: A Delegate checks his phone outside the European Union side event stand at COP26 as negotiations continue on November 12, 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland. Day thirteen of the 2021 COP26 climate summit in Glasgow will focus on advancing action in the places we live, from communities to cities and regions. This is the 26th "Conference of the Parties" and represents a gathering of all the countries signed on to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Climate Agreement. The aim of this year's conference is to commit countries to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Pieter Cleppe reveals how Brussels lobbyists are behind the EU’s latest ‘Green Deal’

Despite a resounding electoral setback for green parties during the 2024 European Parliament elections—and their continued slide in subsequent polls—a number of initiatives taken by the European Commission raises questions to what extent this change in voters preference is affecting policy.  Earlier this month, the European Commission decided to forge ahead with sharpening up the EU’s climate targets. Its latest proposal is now to target a 90% cut in CO2 emissions by 2040—compared to 1990 levels. The Commission moved ahead with this despite the fact that only six EU member governments fully support the move. Furthermore, the institution is reportedly also planning to propose to ban non-electric vehicle purchases by car rental firms and large companies from 2030 on. This effectively accelerates the combustion engine phase-out originally slated for 2035, despite the fact that this ban already faced heavy criticism from industry leaders and politicians in France and Germany and was even s...

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