Kathryn's TV interview encouraging proper use of EU Green Deal funds

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Tuesday, 19 January 2021

In an interview given to Chinese media outlet CGTN, Sustainability Consult’s CEO Kathryn Sheridan urged the EU to ensure that the new funds in the European Green Deal will be allocated to genuine green investments, and not potential “greenwashing” ventures.

"We've already seen plans to fund gas projects, for example, and that's not where we need to be going to transition into more sustainability. We need to stay consistent, stay ambitious, and take everyone along with us", Kathryn said. At EU level, the 2021-2027 budget dedicates 30% to climate action while the COVID-19 recovery facility includes at least 37% on climate-related spending.

Despite its ongoing shattering impact, the pandemic has prompted European leaders to pool their efforts and to increase them, in what has been coined the NextGenerationEU, an unprecedented recovery facility providing a total of 672.5 billion euros to support investment and reforms in the form of grants and loans.

A case in point that needs further investment is the deployment of green infrastructure to power electric vehicles. The environmental think tank Transport & Environment (T&E) concluded at the end of 2019 that there was only one charging point for every eight electric vehicles in Europe.

"We want to change mobility more to electric but then we need the infrastructure", said Kathryn Sheridan, CEO and Founder of the Sustainability Consult.