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#64 Alberto Alemanno & Patrizia Heidegger: Von der Leyen 2.0 & Trump 2.0 - A Battle for Sustainability

How to respond to the backlash against sustainability legislation? Listen to Alberto Alemanno, founder of the Good Lobby and Patrizia Heidegger, deputy secretary general at EEB

2025 starts the same way 2024 ended: with a shifting political landscape.

While Trump was re-elected in the US, the new European Commission announced an Omnibus proposal that would serve its simplification agenda. These events raise concerns about the backlash against the environmental and sustainability policies adopted in the last 5 years to ensure the green transition of the economy.

But what is really going on? How much do we have to worry and how should those committed to sustainability transition in business respond to this threat to step back?

This week on the podcast, Richard Howitt is joined by ⁠Alberto Alemanno⁠, academic and founder of ⁠The Good Lobby⁠ and ⁠Patrizia Heidegger⁠, deputy secretary general and director for European Governance, Sustainability and Global Policies at the ⁠European Environmental Bureau⁠. Together they offered insights on the implementation of the EU Green Deal and on what environmentalists should be prepared to do to push forward the just transition.

You will hear more about:

  • What’s causing the rise of a de-greening pattern
  • How NGOs should deal with the backlash against sustainability legislation
  • The newly created uncertainty around the implementation of the EU Green Deal
  • The new Trump administration and its effects on the ESG backlash
  • The international dimension of the EU Green Deal

Listen in and follow us on ⁠LinkedIn⁠!

"We received signals every single day that there would be a deregulatory turn. How will this affect the implementation of the various sustainability legislative acts that are very nice to have at the moment, but not “must haves" in the mindset of the incoming commissioner. Unless we implement those measures, they will remain a dead letter by creating unprecedented legal uncertainty for the business community."

Alberto Alemanno in Frankly Speaking

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