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The European Green Deal has defined the European Parliament’s recent term, pursuing an ecological transformation. This article examines key debates on its pillars, including nature protection and circularity, using perspectives from environmental and climate justice research. Distributive issues, such as the allocation of costs and benefits, emerge as central themes in the debates. The article highlights an emerging shift in environmental and climate policy towards distributional concerns as a central theme of the transition towards climate neutrality. It also addresses whether MEPs engage in climate scepticism, revealing a polarisation in Parliament, particularly between right-wing populists and centre-left groups. These divisions emerge along ideological lines, for instance, with centre-left groups emphasising global responsibility and the climate crisis, and centre-right groups focusing on internal cost distribution. Overall, it shows that questions of equity and justice are increasingly dominating environmental and climate policy, underscoring their importance in shaping future EU sustainability debates.
Jan Pollex (Mon,) studied this question.