Von der Leyen: Yes to climate action, clean industry, no to nature protection

Incumbent European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recommitted to climate action and clean industry in her reelection bid at the European Parliament and accompanying ‘political guidelines’ this morning (18 July) but restricted herself only to positive rhetoric about nature protection. 

Von der Leyen’s speech at the Strasbourg plenary started just after 9 am, but the results of the upcoming vote will not be known until this afternoon.

Her speech – based on an accompanying ‘political guidelines’ text – was the outcome of weeks of discussion with the Parliament’s main political groups and was tailored to convince MEPs from across the political centre to back her bid.

Climate and environment

Von der Leyen recommitted to the bloc’s climate objectives, including a yet-to-be-agreed 90% reduction target for 2040.

She explicitly framed this in terms of economic competitiveness. Her political guidelines state that Europe was in a global race “that will dictate who will be the first to climate neutrality and first to develop the technologies that will shape the global economy for decades to come”

However, during her speech, von der Leyen acknowledged that climate action was also about “inter-generational fairness,” arguing that young people “would never forgive us if we did not rise to the challenge.”

Von der Leyen said she would “reward farmers for working with nature, preserving our biodiversity and natural ecosystems”, but her remaining references to agriculture were focused on the relief that would be provided to Europe’s farmers.

In her speech, von der Leyen explicitly linked rural interests to the impacts of climate change. She referenced the “changing face of Europe’s rural landscape” and said that her planned ‘Climate Adaptation Plan’ would be developed “together with farmers.”

In recent years, European industry has come to see climate action as being in their best interest. With this speech, she may hope to start a similar shift within the agriculture sector.

Otherwise, von der Leyen’s speech and guidelines had positive rhetoric about the environment but little concrete commitments. Her guidelines said only that her Commission would “provide clarity” on the regulation of PFAS, also known as ‘forever chemicals’.

More concretely, von der Leyen proposes a Circular Economy Act, which would monetise waste products, such as critical raw materials, to incentivise greater recycling.

Ambitious clean industry plans, but funding remains a question

As expected, von der Leyen focused strongly on supporting European industry, explicitly linking its decarbonisation drive to the continent’s economic competitiveness.

She promised a new ‘Clean Industrial Deal’ within 100 days of taking office.

Funding for this would come from an ‘Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator’ that would channel investment into infrastructure and energy-intensive industry and a Competitiveness Fund to invest in a wider range of strategic technologies – including clean technologies.

In her speech, she said that the Clean Industrial Deal would also speed up energy projects planning, permitting and tendering.

However, how much funding and where it will come from remain to be answered. Her document said that the Competitiveness Fund would be proposed as part of negotiations on the EU’s next budget, which will run from 2028 to 2035. Elsewhere in the text, she says that the EU will need more of its own revenue sources.

Energy policy –  same trajectory

On energy security, von der Leyen promised she had “not forgotten how Putin blackmailed us” with restricted gas imports in 2022. To applause from the hemicycle, von der Leyen promised to “once and for all” break Europe’s dependence on “dirty Russian fossil fuels”

Renewable energy got special attention in her speech – she repeatedly referred to it as “clean and homegrown,” in contrast with her references to Russian fossil fuel.

Both von der Leyen’s speech and political guidelines referenced the need to reduce energy prices, but no details were provided on how this would be done.

Von der Leyen did not reference the contentious combustion engine 2035 ban in her speech, although her opening lines referenced ‘technological neutrality’ which will please her German EPP colleagues.

Her political guidelines do reference the ban, however the text refers only to an already-agreed compromise, which would allow the continued sale of combustion engines that run on e-fuels.

All eyes on the vote

Leading lawmakers from the Parliament’s political groups then took to the floor to react to von der Leyen’s speech. The reactions from the four main centrist parties—the liberals, the greens, the centre-left, and von der Leyen’s own centre-right party—were broadly positive but not uncritical.

The groups will now meet separately to decide on their intentions before this afternoon’s vote.

[Edited by Alice Taylor]

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