This article is part of our special report AI for Sustainability: Leveraging Technology to Power the Twin Transition.
For MEP Eva Maydell, Europe’s ambitious green agenda must be underpinned by a comprehensive business plan that shifts the bloc’s focus to competitive sustainability and becoming a world leader in clean technologies.
“We cannot talk about green transition without talking about technologies. There is no Green Deal without Tech Deal. Artificial intelligence and other new technologies are the enablers of the sustainable future that we are trying to imagine here in Europe,” Maydell told EURACTIV.
Maydell is an influential voice of the European People’s Party (EPP), the largest political group in the European Parliament. You have worked on key digital dossiers such as the EU data strategy, the revision of the Network and Information Security Directive (NIS2), the chip law and the artificial intelligence (AI) law.
Two years ago, the Bulgarian legislator promoted the establishment of a working group within the EPP on AI and Sustainability to bring together colleagues, experts and researchers on the applications of AI in areas such as energy efficiency and energy renewable.
Russia’s large-scale attack on Ukraine a year ago, which led to soaring energy prices and prompted Europe to reconsider its strategic dependencies on Russian gas and Chinese batteries, underscored l urgency of the work of the Maydell working group.
“The situation we find ourselves in today has brought about greater pragmatism in our strategic plans for the Green Deal. The plan is a noble idea, but it hasn’t been supported by industrial and technological potential from the outset,” Maydell said.
The MEP stressed that Europe must look to existing innovative solutions, such as artificial intelligence applications that can help reduce energy consumption, to break down barriers and truly transform the green and digital transformations into twin transitions, such as has been called for some time now.
Maydell recalled that, at a recent event for stakeholders on AI and sustainability, he got to see real-life examples of what this type of technology can bring: from a start-up working on storage of energy to a Bulgarian company developing energy solutions with satellite services.
“If we want to achieve these ambitious goals, we cannot do it only by putting in place strict rules for each sector. It’s a two-sided approach. We also need to listen to entrepreneurs to create the working conditions we need to implement the AI solutions that can make this transition possible,” she said.
Regarding the AI Act (Artificial Intelligence Act), a landmark European legislation in late stage negotiation in the European Parliament, Maydell believes that the role of politicians must be to address the challenges posed by this emerging technology, while enabling it to address the most pressing social problems.
In his view, the purpose of the bill is to create legal certainty for AI-based solutions that involve low risk but can make industrial processes more efficient, starting with energy consumption.
“Some think that any solution that sees AI operating in the environmental or green sector should be considered high risk. I want to warn against this approach because we don’t want to discourage companies from venturing into this field,” added Maydell.
At the same time, the MEP acknowledges that balancing innovation and safeguards is easier said than done. However, you warned against excessive regulation, which would clip the wings of European companies that could create AI models based on European values.
“We are leaders on AI law, the Green Deal and other regulations. We have the advantage of being the first. But if we want to be the first to reach net zero, we need to take a step back and realize that we need to foster innovation on our continent.”
“It’s time to start thinking not just about sustainability or competitiveness, but about these characteristics as our strength. Europe has the potential to become the world leader in clean technology,” concluded Maydell.
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