- EU leaders clash on climate crisis target
13 December 2019European leaders clashed over the bloc’s plans to tackle climate change Thursday, with Poland demanding more time to switch to green energy and others pushing the case for nuclear power.
Brussels’ new leadership, under European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, wants member states to use their summit to commit to a carbon-neutral economy by 2050.
But, as the talks went late into the night, Poland was still demanding that it be allowed to take longer, perhaps up until 2070 European diplomats said, to complete the switch — and the Czech Republic was pushing for the members to endorse nuclear power as a clean energy.
Von der Leyen’s “European Green Deal” includes a plan to mobilise 100 billion euros to help countries with the move towards carbon neutrality, but critics say this is not enough.
Prime Minister Andrej Babis, who wants more detailed assurances about funding, said the Czech Republic alone would need 30 to 40 billion euros ($27 to $36 billion) to achieve carbon neutrality.
And Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda estimatedthe transition would cost two-thirds of his country’s GDP.
All of it:
https://thebull.com.au/eu-leaders-clash-on-climate-crisis-target/
