The green transition in Europe and globally is facing a critical crossroads in 2025, where the green progress of recent years may be rolled back. The United States has once again withdrawn from the UN climate agreement, and President Trump will once again increase the extraction of fossil fuels, while forming alliances with the other fossil powers in the world. This is happening at a time when global climate change is setting new temperature records, and six out of the nine planetary boundaries have been breached.

The series will be published every three weeks, where we will highlight burning issues on the EU's green battlefield. Each episode will consist of two parts: In each podcast, leading experts will enlighten us on the biggest current climate and environmental challenges, and we will, together with Danish MEPs and other key stakeholders, take a curious look at what the EU can do to tackle them. Bjarke Møller, Director of the Green Transition Denmark, is the host.

The EU often plays a crucial role in setting new standards for the green transition, as has happened with the EU's Green Deal, but here in 2025 we are witnessing a fierce political battle in the EU over how ambitious climate and environmental legislation should be. For example, can competitiveness and economic prosperity be ensured if the EU also sets high environmental requirements? Can we still afford to raise green standards if we are also to strengthen European defense and afford welfare? Is it good or bad for the economy to invest more in the green transition and new green technologies?

The first episode has just been released, and addresses how the EU can strengthen the green community and ensure cheap, green energy – without losing the competitiveness of the industry. In the episode, Bjarke Møller talks to MEPs Kira Marie Peter-Hansen (SF) and Niels Flemming Hansen (K) about the EU's Clean Industrial Deal and energy action plan. Jeppe Juul, head of transport policy at the Green Transition Denmark, gives an overview of the green elements in the new action plan for the transport sector, and professor at the University of Copenhagen, Katherine Richardson, puts the big green agenda into perspective with everything from Trump and tipping points to political action and hope.

There are many burning questions, and in the podcast Green Europe we promise to give you and other listeners a deeper insight into some of the biggest green dilemmas that decision-makers are grappling with. And we will examine what new EU laws and legislative proposals may mean for Danish citizens and businesses.

Find the podcast on your favorite podcast site, or here on the page: https://rgo.dk/podcast-groent-europa/

The podcast is funded by a grant from the European Commission. The content is the sole responsibility of the grant recipient.