The European Union It is tired of talking about climate changes; it now wants to do something. The world’s second-largest economy is attempting to become the first climate neutral continent by 2050 while slashing its emissions 55 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. To reach these milestones, the bloc’s executive arm, the European Commission, unveiled the Green Deal in 2019—a proposal to radically redesign Europe’s energy, food, and transport systems. “This is Europe’s man on the moon moment,” said European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. 

Importantly, the Green Deal remains a suggestion and not a final plan. Some member states have to convince others that they will pay the costs. Large portions of the Green deal are still not in law. The Commission has said the plan will require around €1 trillion ($1.05 trillion) in sustainable investments. Even targets already agreed upon aren’t binding. Thierry Breton (EU official) suggested that a previously agreed law to end fossil fuel car use by 2035 might be delayed if the targets are not met. 

The Green Deal is still in the midst of years-long political struggles. The plan offers a glimpse into how an economy could be restructured in a way that is more conducive to a world concerned about climate change. This is the vision of a greener, new Europe if it succeeds.

Sea Power

The Green Deal plans to accelerate investment in renewables, especially offshore wind, tidal energy, and other power sources that would take advantage of the bloc’s 68,000-km coastline. Green Deal does not just focus on renewables. The Green Deal also includes hydrogen, which is expected to replace natural gas.

Electric Avenue

Imagine a future where highways are lined with electric charging points, cycle lanes criss-cross cities, and it’s easier to travel by high-speed rail. That’s the Green Deal vision for transport’s zero-emission future. But the proposal doesn’t spell the end for other forms of transport. The plan calls for ships and planes to be powered by sustainable fuels. 

Renovation Wave

Europe is famous for its picturesque buildings; think Copenhagen’s multicolored waterfront or the iconic rooftops of Paris. However, the Commission has identified approximately 75% of these buildings as being energy inefficient. That’s why the Green Deal proposes a mass renovation of existing residential, commercial, and public buildings to ensure all existing buildings are zero emission by 2050.

Future Forests

Europe’s forests and woodlands are facing increasing threats from human activity, disease, and forest fires. But healthy forests are essential for carbon sequestration and storage. That’s why the Green Deal aims to improve both the quality and quantity of Europe’s forests, partly by planting 3 billion trees by the end of the decade.

From Farm to Fork

The EU’s Farm to Fork strategy aims to reduce the environmental footprint of the bloc’s food system by slashing pesticide use and cutting sales of antimicrobial medicines, such as antibiotics, for farmed animals by 50 percent. This strategy proposes to promote organic agriculture and increase bee population on farms.

Blue Economy

More than 4 million people work in Europe’s marine industries, and the Green Deal wants to reduce the environmental footprint across this “blue economy.” Alongside decarbonizing marine transport, that will mean finding ways to reduce microplastic pollution, reverse biodiversity loss, improve ship recycling, and incentivize fishers to collect litter and fishing gear lost at sea.

Science superpower

Much of the success of Europe’s Green Deal will rely on the green alternatives that can replace fossil fuels or solve industries’ problems with waste. That’s why the EU is channeling huge amounts into funding new ideas. So far, the €1 billion Green Deal research call has supported projects that aim to produce green hydrogen in Germany or predict forest fires in Spain.

The original publication of this article was in WIRED UK’s January/February 2023 issue.

A June report was published. New vertical farm has opened at the Bedford suburb. At a swanky opening event, members of the UK Parliament heard that the gleaming facility would one day produce 20 million plants annually. Infarm was the European vertical farm company. Its latest opening saw them announce that they will be able to grow vegetables in warehouses with LED lighting and not in open areas.

However, the Bedford farm’s future is less than glamorous. On November 29, Infarm’s founders emailed its workforce to announce they were laying off “around 500 employees”—more than half of the workforce. The email detailed the firm’s plans to downsize its operations in the UK, France, and the Netherlands, and concentrate on countries where it had stronger links to retailers and a higher chance of eventually turning a profit. In September, Infarm had already laid off 50 employees, citing a need to reduce operating costs and focus on profitability. 

Just six months ago, the vibe from Europe’s biggest vertical farm company was unrelentingly optimistic, so what changed? Cindy van Rijswick from RaboResearch is a Dutch researcher and strategist. In 2022, there are several challenges facing vertical farms. First, electricity prices are extremely susceptible to the industry. Powering all of those plant-growing LEDs uses a lot of electricity, and between December 2020 and July 2022 consumer energy prices in the EU went up by nearly 58 percent. European vertical farms spent approximately 25% of their operations on electricity in 18 months prior to van Rijswick’s estimates. However, that figure could have gone up by as much as 40%.

Investors are also looking for quicker routes to profit as they tighten their belts. It is more expensive to construct vertical farms than traditional outdoor farms. AppHarvest—a US-based firm that builds high-tech greenhouses—has struggled to find enough cash to fund its ongoing operations despite going public in 2021. In its latest quarterly report the company said there is “substantial doubt” about its ability to continue into the future.

Global financial conditions are also making it difficult for consumers. Vertical farms are known for growing herbs and leaves, as well as other salad veggies. Leafy greens are the industry’s go-to produce because they grow quickly under LEDs and have a short shelf life and premium price point. Inflation is high so consumers may be tempted to give up expensive, vertically-farmed herbs in favor of something more affordable. That’s particularly true for European vertical farms. “The European market is a difficult place for vertical farming because there’s so much competition from crops that are grown in fields or greenhouses,” says van Rijswick. 

If vertical farms look beyond the United States, they might have a greater chance of survival in countries with low energy and difficult to grow crops. The Middle East is a good place to start. Gulf Cooperation Council countries—a group made up of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates—import around 85 percent of all their food and 56 percent of their vegetables. “When choosing new markets to expand to and establish a farm, we are going to look to places that have an increasing need for food production and food security,” Infarm founder Erez Galonska told the Vertical Farming Congress in Abu Dhabi on December 14. One of the world’s largest vertical farms opened earlier this year in Dubai. The facility is nearly three times the size of Infarm’s Bedford growing center and supplies leafy greens for the Emirates airline and local stores.