Green Deal 'man on the moon moment' for Europe

Extroardinary Plenary session - The European Green Deal
Extroardinary Plenary session - The European Green Deal
By Greg Lory, Meabh Mc Mahon
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The new Commission president has unveiled her new Green Deal to MEPs, we took the temperature in the European Parliament, with mixed responses.

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Reducing greenhouse gas emissions, promoting green growth and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 is the ambition of the European Commission's Green Deal.

"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 as she announced the plans.

The strategy of the President of the Commission is a calendar of measures, reforms and financial means. To help member states engage in this ecological revolution, the institution wants to create a transition mechanism valued at 100 billion euros. For the liberals the text is up to the challenge.

"We will have the first European law on climate, which will say the carbon neutrality in 2050 but also a very significant increase in our objectives for 2030. 2030 it is tomorrow morning because we talk about industries, we talk about transport , so we're talking about something that needs time to move," Pascal Canfin (MEP France, Renew) told our reporter.

The Commission is proposing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 to 55% by 2030, compared with 40% currently. But from the ranks of ecologist elected officials this proposal is halfway between a real climate strategy and a green-washing exercise.

"Beyond the declarations of intention it will be necessary at a moment it will be necessary to begin to realize. And we can not do everything and the opposite is a bit of a problem. We can not say - continue the common agricultural policy as we did, we will continue the commercial policy as we did but at the same time we will make the Green deal. I mean one or the other, we can not do both," Philippe Lamberts (MEP, Belgium, Greens/EFA) commented to our reporter.

After the European Parliament, it is the Heads of State and Government of the Union who will look into this Green Deal. The text is on the agenda of the summit that opens this Thursday in Brussels.

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