Environmentalist Campaigns in Europe Taste Defeat in 2023
Our sources have reported in the year 2023, a series of unexpected blows to the environmental activist community in Europe. Major campaigns seemed to have fallen flat, raising questions about their strategies and effectiveness.
The StopGlyphosate Campaign Misfire
The most striking failure was recorded by the “StopGlyphosate” campaign. Their efforts to sway the minds of regulators ended up in naught, leading to a renewed green signal to the herbicide glyphosate for another ten years by the European Commission.
European Parliament Dismisses the Sustainable Use Regulation
Adding to these fiascos, our correspondents have learnt that the European Parliament rejected the Sustainable Use Regulation (SUR). This move heavily undermined the EU’s Farm2Fork initiatives.
New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) Deregulation
Another significant development was the EU’s decision to loosen the regulations on New Genomic Techniques (NGTs), facilitating a smoother market access for gene-edited plants. This act also stripped the member states of their authority to ban NGTs. The notion taken by the EU came as an unexpected blow, considering the escalating influence of environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the European capital, Brussels.
Possible Causes of the Setbacks
The contributing factors to these disappointments are mired in the tactics and strategies of the NGOs. For instance, their extremist approach and unwillingness to compromise as was observed in the ‘StopGlyphosate’ movement ended up losing potential collaborators.
Furthermore, their expectations were seen to be sky-high, as shown by Green MEP’s demand for an 80% reduction in pesticide usage, which only helped in solidifying the opposition. To add to this, the use of aggressive tactics, including launching personal attacks on regulators, considerably dented their credibility.
The absence of consensus on pivotal issues like NGTs further weakened their stance. Their dependency on a tight circle of influencers was another downfall, which became prominent with the exit of a pivotal advocate, Frans Timmermans.
Implication for Future Strategies
These stumbles give a stern warning to the environmental movement, underlining the necessity to re-consider their future tactics. This is particularly relevant considering the looming European elections and the probable re-configurations in the political setting.
Thus, a comprehensive re-evaluation of strategies, ensuring flexibility in approaches and building broad-based coalitions seems pertinent for the environmental activists to steer their campaigns towards victory in the future.
