Advocacy webinars: fiscal policies for a sustainable future

This webinar series explores the ways we can gather the funding required to invest in a green, fair future for young people and the planet. Hands-on examples and practices will show how a new economic framework can exist if we put sustainability first.

Are you concerned about the climate crisis? Are you sick of austerity? Do you ever wonder why we haven’t solved the climate crisis yet? Have you always wondered what your government’s budget has to do with all of that? Us too! This is what these webinars are about.

Whether we are talking about climate action, access to decent housing, health care services, education or the European Green Deal, there always comes a time when someone says “fine, but who will pay for it?”. Understanding fiscal policy is key to building a sustainable and fair future. The EU has a set of rules that are blocking effective climate action and widening inequalities, but reform is in the works. The reform of the EU’s fiscal rules is an opportunity to accelerate the transition towards an economy that works both for people and the planet.

The European Environmental Bureau and the European Youth Forum invite you to a webinar series called ‘’Fiscal Policies for a Sustainable Future” where we will equip you with everything you need to know to understand what is going on in Brussels and to advocate for ambitious fiscal policies that work for people and the planet, particularly the EU fiscal rules and the Stability and Growth Pact.

Following these workshops, you will be able to answer these questions (and more!):

• How do government budgets work? Why are they different from my household’s budget?

• How can public money help solve the climate crisis?

• What are public debt and investment?

• Is public debt a burden on future generations?

• What is the fiscal multiplier and how can it help?

• Why are European countries not doing what it takes to fight climate change?

You can follow one, two, or three of the webinars, as you’d prefer!

Webinar 1: All about fiscal policy: what it is, why it matters and more on the 21st of February, 13 to 14.30

For many, fiscal talk (and economics) is technical, jargon-laden, and abstract, making it intimidating and inaccessible. But its impacts are real: we need public money to build schools, solar plants, wind parks, football fields, hospitals... This webinar will tackle the basics. We will explain the essential concepts you need to understand what ‘’fiscal’’ is all about and how it relates to the current policy debates around the EU fiscal rules and Stability and Growth Pact. The cherry on the top: we provide you with strong arguments to use to convince your parents at the dinner table that current fiscal rules just simply don't work.

Registration Link here.

Webinar 2: Tackling the climate crises - where does the money come from? on the 28th of March, 13 to 14.30

This webinar builds on the previous one (held on 21 February). We will dive a bit deeper into funding for climate action. How much money do we need to fight the climate crisis? Why did we not succeed in mobilising this money already? How can we finance the just transition? Where does the money come from and what role does the EU fiscal framework play? We will also supply you with the definitive facts and counterarguments to classic myths like “debt is a burden on future generations’ or “to fight the climate crisis, the private sector needs to show us the way”.

Registration link here.

Workshop 3: Advocating for change: how to reform the Stability and Growth Pact on the on the 11th of July, 13 to 14.30

The reform of the Stability and Growth Pact is a key opportunity to create a fiscal framework that delivers on social and climate goals. This webinar aims to level up your activism. Effective advocacy is a critical part of the policy-making process at all levels of government. This session will provide you with the steps essential for an effective advocacy strategy to reform the EU fiscal rules. We will show you how you can be part of the change and different options on how you can influence the reform process.

Registration link here.

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