The Green Deal

How the EU Green Deal is changing coastal construction.

The European Green Deal will prove to be an essential tool in our arsenal in the global fight to reduce climate change and environmental degradation.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, on agreeing the deal, said: "By acting now we can do things another way... and choose a better, healthier and more prosperous way for the future. It is our generational task... [to secure] the wellbeing of not only our generation, but of our children and grandchildren. Europe is ready to lead the way."

The Green Deal, or “Fit for 55”, hopes to reduce the continent’s net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% (compared to that of 1990) by 2030, through a combination of new climate, energy, transport and taxation policies. Since the ocean is our vastest ecosystem, holding 97% of our water and up to 80% of all life forms, addressing marine and coastal issues is fundamental to the success of these proposals.

Transforming The Blue Economy

Research from the European Commission shows that, compared to a national economy, the global blue economy would be the seventh largest economic entity in the world, even acting as a member of the G7. There is tremendous growth in this sector, as it has always been a broad and rather fast-moving sector of the global economy. But, it is also perhaps the sector that is facing the most challenges as a result of climate change.

Exploitation of our natural resources has had a devastating effect on marine life, coasts, and people living near the ocean. 730 tonnes of waste are dumped in the Mediterranean every day – from visible pollutants such as oil spills and plastic pollution, to the invisible evils such as chemicals, nutrients and microplastics, it is clear that we must accelerate the transition to a more sustainable blue economy. According to the European Commission, single-use plastics account for 49% of marine litter, while plastic waste from fishing gear accounts for 27%. This has necessitated the EU’s total ban on single-use plastic items for which alternatives in other materials are already readily available, such as cotton buds, cutlery, plates, straws, drink stirrers and balloon sticks. Only 38% of waste in the EU is recycled, while over 60% of household waste still goes to landfill in some EU countries. This threatens to have a devastating impact on our coastlines, where the collective unsustainable use of resources in coastal developments now represents a rapidly growing bubble that is waiting to burst.

Green infrastructure proposals in The Green Deal represent a solution that responds to economic, social and developmental issues that arise from climate change. Importantly, they will transform the lives of people living by the coast by mitigating the most destructive results of climate change in these areas: draughts, flooding and coastal erosion. The time has come for the EU to ask local authorities and companies like Ecocoast to pioneer ways to revitalise the blue economy and protect it from climate change to give the European waterways and seas a fighting chance.

The Importance Of Green Design

In coastal regions where economic and social stability depends entirely on the blue economy, the challenge then, is how we tackle the construction of this infrastructure. Economic assets within 500 metres of the EU shorelines have an estimated value of €500 billion to 1 trillion. The traditional sectors of blue economy provide 4.5 million direct jobs and generate over 650 billion euro in turnover.

The Green Deal has changed the way we approach coastal construction, as it promotes use of innovative, highly engineered and circular coastal solutions. Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner for the Environment, Fisheries and Maritime Affairs said: “The pandemic has hit the marine economy sectors in different, but profound ways. We have an opportunity to start afresh, and we want to make sure that the recovery shifts the focus from mere exploitation to sustainability and resilience. Thus to be truly green, we must also think blue.” This is where Ecocoast comes in.