EU chief aims for 90% emissions reduction by 2040

AFP | Strasbourg, France

The Daily Tribune - www.newsofbahrain.com

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who won a second five-year term yesterday, promised to target cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent by 2040. This objective, a key step towards achieving the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, will be included in a legislative proposal to the EU’s 27 states.

“The new clean industrial deal will also help bring down energy bills,” she told EU lawmakers, adding that “high energy prices hamper our competitiveness”. In a document setting out her plans for another term, the German ex-defence minister, who became the first woman leader of the European Commission in 2019, said: “We must and will stay the course on the goals set out in the European Green Deal”, referring to the package of climate policies that von der Leyen made the core mission of her first fiveyears in office.

The next EU Comm i s s i o n w o u l d continue with the EU’s existing CO2-cutting policies, and propose new measures to help European industries stay competitive while they invest in curbing emissions - a “clean industrial deal” that von der Leyen pledged to deliver within her first 100 days in office.