Environmental groups breathe a sigh of relief at von der Leyen’s climate choices

This article was originally published in English

The Ursula von der Leyen’s green options have received a cautious boost from climate activists and clean energy lobby groups, after a first term in which environmental legislation has taken centre stage.

The new appointment of the Dutchman Wopke Hoekstra as European Commissioner for Climate Change and the arrival of Danish Social Democrat Dan Jørgensen to the Energy portfolio seem to have calmed fears of a 180-degree turn regarding the Green Dealthe star politician of his first term.

This morning they received their portfolios in a highly anticipated presentation by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who gave Spanish Environment Minister Teresa Riberaan executive vice president position responsible for a “Clean, fair and competitive transition“.

Linda Kalcherexecutive director of the climate think tank Strategic Perspectives, described the trio as a “dream team” that could carry the legacy of the Green Deal into the future Clean Industrial Agreement which he has promised for his second five-year term.

“They understand the geopolitical uncertainties, the pressure on European companies and the dependencies on imports,” Kalcher said, adding that they would be well positioned to navigate geopolitical tensions and tariffs which could lead to a second Trump presidency.

“As strong advocates of moving towards a fossil-free energy system, it will be up to them to reduce the US LNG imports“Kalcher said. The former Danish Minister for Development and Climate Change is confident that can withstand the pressure of the big oil and gas lobbies.

“I hope it will be immune to environmentalist claims that blue hydrogen or various carbon removal technologies will solve all our problems tomorrow, while being pragmatic about the nuclear power“Kalcher said.

Dutch MEP Bas Eickhout, who chairs the group The Greenssaid: “It’s good to see that The urgent need to counter climate change will remain at the heart of EU policy for the new mandate.”

“We need to invest massively in renewable energiesgood jobs and green European industries,” Eickhout said, but warned that he wanted “Clarity on how the new portfolios dealing with climate change will work in practice and decarbonisation.”

Others have sought clues about the future political direction in the formsometimes unconventional, in which von der Leyen has combined portfolios, and Hoekstra, who deals with fiscal policy alongside climate policy, is a good example.

The Dutchman, who was finance minister for five years and recently called The lack of taxation of aviation fuel is “absurd”will have to find a way to deal with the blocking of the Member States to the reforms of the Directive on energy taxation.

The inclusion of taxation in the portfolio makes it possible to Hopes that future tax initiatives will reflect the “polluter pays” principleas long as they are socially fair,” said Sven Harmeling of the campaign alliance Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe. “A permanent tax on the fossil fuel industry would be a good starting point.”

Jørgensen’s mandate in energy matters is also combined with his role as First EU Housing Commissioner. It makes some sense: buildings remain the bloc’s biggest consumer of fossil fuels, and lawmakers have recently set tough short-term targets for reduce energy consumption.

Eva Bradinelli, head of buildings policy at CAN Europe, highlighted the “strong interrelation” between the two policies and stated that promoting a substantial renovation of a “largely inefficient” construction sector would help reduce bills and therefore housing costs.

Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower Europeagreed that Jørgensen’s double assignment made “a lot of sense.”

“The solar energy in social housingfor example, is a low-hanging fruit to decarbonize our grid and ensure that no one is left behind,” he said.

On behalf of Europe’s fastest growing renewable energy sourcethe Brussels-based trade association welcomed Von der Leyen’s call for Jørgensen to draw up an “electrification action plan”, and called for Tax reforms as an incentive.

Von der Leyen’s powers clear up the mystery about Who will represent the EU at the COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan in November?Hoekstra, who is responsible for climate action at the College until 1 November, is likely to attend even if the formalisation of the new team is delayed.

The acid test of the next Community Executive’s commitment to climate action will come early next year, when Hoekstra has to propose an emissions reduction target for 2040; has already publicly backed a drastic 90% cut from 1990 levels.

Some climate and environmental groups were skeptical.however, on the intentions of the new Von der Leyen Commission. “If competitiveness means lowering social and environmental standards and giving in to big polluters, It will not create jobs, nor will it protect lives or the nature on which we all depend.“, said Jorgo Riss, director of Greenpeace EU.