Ribera’s vision to overtake China and the US

The next European Commission must do more to help European industry catch up in the green technology race with China and the United States, said Spanish climate and energy minister Teresa Ribera, a candidate to be the next head of EU environmental policy.

EU country leaders are meeting in Brussels on Monday to discuss key positions in the future European Commission, in which each of the 27 EU countries will have a member. Ribera, who was proposed by the Spanish government for a senior position on the climate commission, rejected calls from some politicians for the EU to slow down the green transition, but said more effort would be needed to address the effects of the change on citizens and industry.

“This will be a very critical period for Europe and either we manage to overcome all difficulties and become this strong, positive force. Or we will implode,” Ribera said in an interview with Reuters. “The ecological program is a good incentive to catch up and return to the right position,” she said.

Green parties performed badly in this month’s European Parliament elections, with far-right parties skeptical of climate policy winning seats. Ribera said future climate policymaking will be more difficult. But she said delaying Europe’s green shift would ultimately backfire, costing European companies their advantage in low-carbon industries and exposing farmers to more extreme drought and crop-wilting heat.

As global competition for green technologies intensifies, Europe is taking a tougher stance against China. Last week, Brussels announced tariffs on imported Chinese electric cars and is investigating Chinese subsidies for wind and solar energy suppliers. Ribera said the next Commission should consult with local industry to understand what conditions could help it “get back into the race” with the US and China – whether that be greater public investment in next-generation technologies or simpler bureaucratic rules.

“The United States has realized that it needs to invest in its own (industry), so it is attracting money and investment from all over the world – including European money,” she said. “Why don’t we do this in our countries?” One of the first tasks of the future European Commission will be to propose an EU 2040 climate target that will help steer Europe towards a net zero emissions target by 2050.

Ribera said she supported the Commission’s initial suggestion to cut emissions by 90% by 2040, but with the option to go further if possible.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndication feed.)