European Green Deal through the lens of the water-energy-food nexus: striving to build a collaborative approach

Systems thinking is vital to understand the interrelated and complex challenges the European Green Deal (EGD) aims to achieve. The EGD launched by the European Commission in December 2019 is a wide-ranging and exceptionally ambitious project. The scheme calls for a more integrated program of reform combined with major investment initiatives, a focus on energy and climate policy and an overarching goal to reach climate neutrality by 2050. The EU green agenda stands at a critical juncture setting the EU on a potentially new and transformative path, that clearly revolves around, but not limited to, the goal of achieving zero net emissions. Yet, mounting political discontent with the green policies across the bloc about recent EU’s climate regulations threaten to derail Europe’s own climate agenda and progress in other sectors. Through the lens of the water-energy-food nexus (WEF nexus), this article argues that exploring the EGD in conjunction with the WEF nexus has clear advantages: it provides a path to assess the exact degree of integration and variation across policy sectors; it points to the competence of EU institutions to coordinate and enforce the implementation of the plan; and it explores how transdisciplinary dialogue and building collaboration is key to developing coherent policy. A nexus approach promotes a deeper understanding of competing interests and trade-offs and forces decision makers to think beyond their sphere of influence and sectors. The WEF nexus paradigm is an important framework to consider for understanding the unique challenges Europe is facing in its transition to a greener future.