Reminder green investments for the next chapter in Europe: the vision of a stakeholder

While the green agenda of Europe is exposed to new pressure, the sustainability leader Sandrine Dixson-Declève outlines why sustainable investments for the economic strength, the health of the planets and the future resistance are crucial.

Since Europe is confronted with growing security and trade challenges, the dynamics behind sustainable guidelines and in particular green finances have increasingly come under pressure.

Sandrine Dixson-Declève, a leading voice in climate economy and sustainable financing, will give a competitive green transition in Brussels, Belgium to light on the conference on research and innovation on the conference on research and innovation, to throw in light, why green investments in the heart of the economic and environmental agent in Europe must remain.

Dixson-Declève is the Executive Chair of Earth4all and co-founder of the system transformation center in Brussels. From 2018 to November 2024, she was also president of the Club of Rome, a non -profit group of academic, former government and business leaders who have been involved in pressing global topics since 1968.

Earth4all is an international initiative by Rome Club, which combines the latest scientific modeling and new economic thinking in order to sketch how we can achieve prosperity for everyone within planetary limits. The system transformation hub is intended to help EU institutions to embed systemic approaches in politics, investment and strategy.

The conference will take place in September as a satellite event of the upcoming days of European Research and Innovation (R&I) and will present concrete solutions for the green transition in Europe to improve the quality of life and to increase economic competitiveness and at the same time facilitate the implementation of the European Green Deal.

In the following interview, Dixson-Declève discusses the need to prioritize sustainable investments, to rethink strategies for the circular economy and to combine environmental protection again with our well-being so that we can secure the prosperity and stability of our planet for the coming generations.

Read the interview to discover your insights into the need to promote environmentally friendly finances and to build a circular economy that deals with the entire value chain.

The EU aims to mobilize around one trillion euros for sustainable investments by 2030. What do we have to do to make this ambition reality?

First we have to set priorities. We have to identify the most important major shifts that we want to see in the next 3, 5, 10 years. And that's the biggest problem – everyone has their pet idea. Where does Europe really have to be most sustainable to ensure that we adapt to future crises – whether it is pandemics or climate effects?

I think it is very important that we make a proper evaluation. We have to think where the priorities are, and then tell the citizens properly. Then use the right fiscal structures and economic structures to do this work. So it is the guideline that works with finances and economy and the right communication instruments that enable us to really get ahead.

How can we convince financial institutions and political decision -makers that it is really important to prioritize investments in models in the circular economy?

I know that the European Commission is still obliged to promote circularity – and I fully support it. However, it is important to remember that circularity does not begin with recycling, but with the rethinking of consumption. And that's fundamental.

Too often the circularity is framed as if it is only a matter of waste management or the reuse of materials. However, the real transformation is to reduce the consumption of the source and use systemic changes that keep us within the safe operating limits of the planet.

If I am serious to build up a really sustainable economy, we have to look upstream – where materials come from, how they are used and how we can lower demand. Our access to natural resources is expected to lose weight, so

What is your key message of EU leaders and financial institutions for the importance and urgency to invest in a green future?

My main message is that we have to stop separating people from the environment. The protection of nature is not a niche outside the cuff. It is a necessity. We are nature and we are nature. Our survival depends on a healthy planet and our ability to withstand the shock and stress of climate change.

The greatest existential threat to humanity is our failure to take care of nature and the planet. And the second is our failure to commit the growing social tensions and inequalities. The good news? We already have many solutions – police tools, new technologies, new governance models and tax strategies.

Let us use it – healed and urgently – to secure a flourishing society on a healthy planet.

The views of the questioned do not necessarily reflect that of the European Commission.

This article was originally published in Horizon the EU Research and Innovation Magazine.

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Offer from Horizon: The EU Research & Innovation Magazine