European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said the bloc should commit to deeper emissions cuts over the next decade, pledging to use green bonds to finance its climate goals
BRUSSELS - The European Union’s chief executive laid out ambitious goals on Wednesday to ensure that the bloc is more resilient and united to confront futures crises after the coronavirus pandemic, which has plunged Europe into its deepest recession in history.
Von der Leyen, who wants Europe to become the world’s first climate-neutral continent by mid-century, unveiled a plan to cut the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% from 1990 levels by 2030, up from an existing target of 40%. She also pledged to use green bonds to finance those climate goals.
The former German cabinet minister also called for greater investment in technology for Europe to compete more keenly with China and the United States, and said the EU would invest 20% of a 750 billion euro economic recovery fund in digital projects.Officials said that, far from backing off the plans she laid out at the beginning of her term because of the coronavirus pandemic, von der Leyen believes they remain key to Europe’s long-term economic and political survival.
But in July they agreed on a stimulus plan that paved the way for the European Commission to raise billions of euros on capital markets on behalf of them all, an unprecedented act of solidarity in almost seven decades of European integration. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen gestures as she addresses her first State of the European Union speech during a plenary session of the European Parliament as the coronavirus disease outbreak continues, in Brussels, Belgium September 16, 2020. REUTERS/Yves Herman
Chiding EU countries for an ineffective foreign policy, von der Leyen said the bloc must get better at responding to events unfolding around the world.
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