Economics chief cites no regrets despite green deal backlash

With fresh elections looming, senior officials are unrepentant for making climate change a priority of their five-year term.

Transcript

00:00 The green transition and its economic implications were prominent topics at the Brussels Economic

00:07 Forum, where politicians, businessmen, scientists and activists met at the event.

00:14 The upcoming European elections were also discussed in connection with the green transition,

00:19 as the topic remains consistently on the political agenda.

00:22 According to the EU Economic Commissioner, the key to growth is investing in green initiatives,

00:28 because the whole world is moving in the same direction.

00:31 "If Europe, which has been the advantage of being the first mover, backtrack, it's a big

00:38 mistake.

00:39 I know that we have to strengthen our support to sectors and regions affected by the green

00:47 transition.

00:50 Not doing so would be a serious mistake, but a backtrack would be much worse than a mistake.

00:57 It would be a catastrophe, not only for the environment, but especially for the European

01:04 economy."

01:05 There was a shared consensus that the green transition must ensure fairness, with a particular

01:11 emphasis on prioritizing the social dimension.

01:16 "Green transition cannot happen without including workers, the citizens in this process.

01:22 It means that jobs are going to be lost, communities are going to suffer.

01:25 So this is why we need to adopt at the European level a just transition directive, that it's

01:29 going to anticipate this change, that it's going to manage this change, and that it's

01:33 going to include the workers in the process of preparing and implementing this change."

01:39 The EU has been criticized for reducing its green transition ambitions due to the movement

01:45 of agricultural producers.

01:47 According to a climate activist, this points to a serious shortcoming of the EU.

01:52 "The farmers movement is a great example of how we were not having a holistic vision of

01:57 what the climate transition is.

02:00 Climate transition is also part of the cap.

02:02 How do we reform the cap in a way that it's completely in line to the Green Deal?

02:06 And I believe this is what we need.

02:08 But far from that, I don't believe that we have to be less ambitious."

02:14 Activists say that the EU has no more time to lose as climate change will continue.

02:19 "We need to implement a more global climate change, especially of critical problems.

02:22 We need to implement a...

02:23 [SWOOSH]