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| European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the 'Green New Deal' to fight climate change was "Europe's man on the moon moment" (AFP Photo/ Aris Oikonomou) |
Brussels
(AFP) - The EU's top official Wednesday launched the bloc's new "Green
Deal", hailing it as a strategy for jobs and economic growth, not just for
cutting emissions.
Unveiling
the plan to the European Parliament, European Commission president Ursula von
der Leyen also warned against the steep cost of inaction.
Earlier,
she had compared the ambition of the plan to the 1960s US mission to the moon,
but Green groups were quick to warn it does not go far enough.
The key
element of the plan will be a law committing member states to build a carbon
neutral economy by 2050 -- but first it will need the go-ahead from parliament
and EU leaders.
"We do
not have all the answers yet. Today is the start of a journey. But this is
Europe's man on the moon moment," Ursula von der Leyen said.
She
promised a "new growth strategy" that "gives back more than it
takes away", aiming to mobilise around 100 billion euros to fund clean
energy projects.
"We
have to make sure no one is left behind," she told reporters. "This
transition will either be working for all and be just, or it will not work at
all."
In
parliament, she said: "Some say the cost of this transition is too high,
let us never forget what the cost of non-action would be. It is rising by the
year."
The
document is the first major political challenge for the former German defence
minister since she took charge of the European Commission this month.
And it
comes as a UN global climate summit is under way in Madrid -- focusing
attention on the crisis -- and on the eve of von der Leyen's first EU summit.
Various
leaked versions of the plan have been flying around Brussels for weeks, and
lobby groups from all sides of the debate have been piling on pressure.
The
European Parliament was the first to officially receive the plan.
"At
this point, we can't yet say if it's a Green Deal or green washing," said
French Green MEP Karima Delli as associations feared the proposals did not go
far enough.
The leaders
of EU member states will hear it on Thursday at their Brussels summit and von
der Leyen's deputy Frans Timmermans will take it to this week's COP25 forum in
Madrid.
"It's
important that, in parallel to the announcement, there's a signal" of
support from European leaders, European Council President Charles Michel said.
The
"European Green Deal" lists legislative proposals, financial
instruments and action plans in different sectors, with a timetable.
The key
goals are to use a combination of cleaner tech and carbon capture methods to
make Europe the first "carbon neutral" economy by 2050.
Global
competitors
Three
countries still highly dependent on fossil fuels, particularly coal, could
still block the way: Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
To convince
them, the Commission plans to establish a 100-billion-euro "transition
mechanism" to help them transition to renewable energy sources.
"It
would help if at the Council we get some progress on carbon neutrality,"
said MEP Pascal Canfin, chair of the environment committee of the leaders'
meeting.
The
European Commission wants to set a target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions
by 50 or even 55 percent by 2030, up from its 40 percent goal.
But for
some this does not go far enough.
"The
promises are too small, too few, and too far off," said Jagoda Munic of
Friends of the Earth Europe.
"We're
on a runaway train to ecological and climate collapse and the EU Commission is
gently switching gears instead of slamming on the brakes."
The action
plan also includes plans to extend the EU Emissions Trading System into the
highly polluting shipping sector.
And there
are plans for a "border adjustment mechanism" aimed at importers to
ensure that EU companies do not lose out to competitors who flout the Paris
Climate Agreement.
The
Commission will also lay out the timetable for its "from farm to
fork" strategy to promote sustainable and quality agriculture, as well as
that on biodiversity.
But however
ambitious von der Leyen's environmental plan is, it will be very dependent on
the money EU members are willing to spend on it.
For the
moment, this is the unknown. Negotiations for the multi-year MFF budget for the
period 2021-2027 are running late and entering a difficult stage.
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