Universelle Grundversorgung: Ein grüneres, erschwinglicheres Leben für alle

The author contends that current EU climate policies, including the European Green Deal, lack a sufficient social dimension and risk becoming regressive by disproportionately impacting low-income households. The proposed solution is 'universal basic services' (USB)—a needs-based approach that provides essential services like public transport, housing, and childcare as public goods. This strategy aims to decouple social security from the labor market and reduce carbon intensity by shifting from individual consumption to collective provision. The document calls for the EU to abandon restrictive fiscal rules, increase public investment, and implement wealth taxes to fund this transition, arguing that public support for climate action depends on the perceived fairness of the transition.

• The European Green Deal is criticized for being insufficient in its speed of emission reductions and lacking a strong social dimension, which risks making climate policy regressive if it increases costs for citizens without providing affordable green alternatives.
• Universal basic services (USB) is presented as a political program to satisfy basic human needs within planetary boundaries through collective action and public services rather than individual market transactions.
• Market-oriented climate policies, such as the expansion of emission trading to transport and heating, are expected to disproportionately affect low- and middle-income households, while the proposed Social Climate Fund is deemed too small to mitigate these effects.
• The document argues that current EU inflation is driven significantly by 'sellers' inflation'—where companies increase prices to protect profit margins—and that raising interest rates hinders the green transition by making investments in renewables and social housing more expensive.
• Publicly controlled services are linked to lower energy requirements and carbon footprints compared to market-driven systems; for example, the per capita carbon footprint of the US healthcare system is three times larger than in several European countries with state-controlled systems.
• Current EU fiscal rules are viewed as a barrier to the Paris Agreement goals, with an analysis suggesting only four EU member states could meet necessary investments under existing spending limits; some states might need to cut at least 45 billion euros next year if discussed rules are implemented.
• To fund the transition, the document suggests implementing wealth taxes, which could generate 213 billion euros annually for EU member states, and a frequent flyer levy to reduce aviation emissions.

APA

Mang, A. C. S. (2025). Universelle Grundversorgung: Ein grüneres, erschwinglicheres Leben für alle. Green European Journal. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/universelle-grundversorgung-ein-gruneres-erschwinglicheres-leben-fur-alle/

Chicago

Mang, Anna Coote, Sebastian. Universelle Grundversorgung: Ein grüneres, erschwinglicheres Leben für alle. Green European Journal, 2025. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/universelle-grundversorgung-ein-gruneres-erschwinglicheres-leben-fur-alle/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Mang |first1=Anna Coote, Sebastian |title=Universelle Grundversorgung: Ein grüneres, erschwinglicheres Leben für alle |publisher=Green European Journal |date=7 February 2025 |url=https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/universelle-grundversorgung-ein-gruneres-erschwinglicheres-leben-fur-alle/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{mang2025universelle, author = {Mang, Anna Coote, Sebastian}, title = {{Universelle Grundversorgung: Ein grüneres, erschwinglicheres Leben für alle}}, publisher = {Green European Journal}, year = {2025}, month = feb, url = {https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/universelle-grundversorgung-ein-gruneres-erschwinglicheres-leben-fur-alle/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }