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Von der Leyen pledges higher climate targets ahead of key vote

Ursula von der Leyen, outgoing German defense minister and EU Commission president nominee | Frederick Florin/AFP via Getty Images

Von der Leyen pledges higher climate targets ahead of key vote

German conservative nominee for European Commission president pledges a ‘green deal for Europe’ that includes net zero emissions by 2050.

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Ursula von der Leyen, the conservative nominee for European Commission president, on Tuesday pledged she would put forward a “green deal for Europe” in the first 100 days in office, including legislating for net zero emissions by 2050, if elected.

Speaking to MEPs during a plenary session in Strasbourg, ahead of a vote on her nomination, von der Leyen reiterated her climate pledges to MEPs.

That includes her call for the EU to increase its emission reduction target by 2030, from 40 percent to “50 if not 55 percent.”

“I want Europe to be the first climate-neutral continent in the world by 2050,” she said to broad applause.

Reaching that goal “will need investment on a major scale,” von der Leyen said in her comments, cautioning that public money “will not be enough.” She will propose to turn the European Investment Bank into a climate bank, she said, adding this would help unlock €1 trillion in the next decade.

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“All of us and every sector will have to contribute, from aviation to maritime transport to the way everyone travels and lives,” she said. A “just transition fund” is meant to help regions and workers affected by the bloc’s efforts to switch away from fossil fuels.

Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats leader Iratxe García said that her group’s support is conditional on von der Leyen’s commitment to stronger climate action: “We want you, and this is the case before we can support you for Commission president, to lead the change that people want, bring about the transformation that young people are demanding,” she said.

She said that the Commission president nominee is “moving in the right direction” — a reference to von der Leyen’s recent position on a 2030 emissions reduction target. “We need to set binding objectives, so we can meet objectives of cutting emissions in 2030.”

Authors:
Eline Schaart 

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