Hoekstra warns Trump policy is a 'major blow' to climate efforts

euronews (in English)

Hoekstra warns Trump policy is a 'major blow' to climate efforts  The US retreat from climate commitments under the Trump administration will have “significant consequences” for the planet, European Commissioner for Climate Wopke Hoekstra told Euronews at The Europe Conversation.   READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/07/10/hoekstra-warns-trump-policy-is-a-major-blow-to-climate-efforts  Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages

Transcript

00:00Welcome to the Europe Conversation. My guest this week is the EU Commissioner for Climate,

00:12Clean Growth and Net Zero, Wupke Hustra. He says that while global warming is a man-made problem,

00:19the response has to be balanced with the interests of industry.

00:24Well, Wupke Hustra, EU Commissioner for Climate and Clean Growth. Thank you very much for joining

00:29us on the Europe Conversation. Thank you for having me. We're here because a few days ago the EU

00:34announced its targets for 2040 by cutting greenhouse emissions by 90%. Can you tell us,

00:40do you think that the EU can actually do that, given that so many member states, in particular

00:44France, are looking for flexibilities? I think we can, and I think we should, if we manage to make

00:51sure this is a huge opportunity also for our businesses. By the way, that is precisely where

00:56France and others are asking for, and rightly so. This is not just about climate, it is as much about

01:03exposing us to future economic success and making sure we create more independence and never again

01:11become dependent on rogue states like Russia for something as important as our energy.

01:17And then one of the issues, one of the flexibilities, which is sort of people are talking about the most,

01:20is this idea of a carbon credit, where other countries, the EU pays other countries to cut

01:25their carbon emissions. There are real concerns about this around accountability, whether it will

01:32work, whether it's cost effective, whether we're not redirecting money in the EU, which could be

01:36invested in the EU's own carbon emission reduction schemes. Yeah, but let's be clear-eyed about what we're

01:44doing. The vast amount of effort and also money will be spent on clean tech, will be spent on batteries,

01:51on solar, on wind, on geothermal, all sorts of technologies that will help push for more economic growth

01:58and more jobs in Europe. That's one. Secondly, and next to that, if it is more cost-effective for our own companies

02:06to make sure that they go for part of the solution and part of the emission reductions outside of

02:13Europe, this is exactly what is opening the door for getting that. So it's not going to be mandatory

02:18and companies will only go there if it is cost-effective. Even the EU, the European Scientific Advisory Board on

02:24Climate Change has advised against this and also saying that those countries, often developing countries,

02:30won't meet their climate targets under a Paris accord because of this. Well, I think actually it's something

02:35different than also the advisory board. The scientists are telling us something different.

02:40They, in itself, like the idea of carbon credits and doing exactly this. They're just saying it

02:47should not be part of the 90 percent, it should be on top of it. So that, I think, is an extremely

02:52important distinction. Secondly, in this hugely complicated geopolitical world, there is a lot of

02:57value also for us in building more bridges with our friends in Africa and Latin America and other places.

03:03And this is something they're advocating for. This is something they like. They have, they often lack the

03:10capital, they often lack the opportunity. Wouldn't it be great if our companies actually build these

03:16bridges, make money and manage this problem and help to basically drive down emissions at the same time?

03:25But is it not the case that those countries, their economic growth may be slowed because they have to

03:29take into account their own carbon emissions as well as the ones they're receiving money for from the

03:33European Union? Whereas the EU can then just pursue economic growth without impeded?

03:38So the presumption that underlies your question suggests actually that, you know, there is some sort of a

03:46discrepancy between, on the one hand, economic growth and, on the other hand, climate action.

03:51And our job is to make sure that we continue with climate action, but do so in a way that works for our

03:59people, works for our companies and works for our economy. Personally, I think that is very much doable,

04:04but we need to make sure that on top of this setting this target, we have the conversation about how European

04:11companies are going to be the winners of the future in cleantech, how we are much stricter about a level playing

04:18field that is fair to our companies, rather than that they face unfair competition, particularly from

04:23China. How do we make sure we make life much simpler for our businesses? Because, frankly speaking, we have

04:28made it too complicated.

04:30I suppose just one of the issues around this is that there's an anxiety that this is just another element of

04:35chipping away at the Green Deal. I mean, we look at the Commission, for example, well, potentially getting rid of,

04:40I don't know if it is or not, the corporate greenwashing legislation. I mean, what is the position on that?

04:46Let's look into this specific proposal, what it is. On the one hand, it is clearly ambitious,

04:53because of the true north it sets in terms of action. That helps, by the way, also for our companies,

05:00because it gives predictability on where the European Union wants to go. And indeed, it offers

05:06flexibility, and I would say pragmatism in part of the design. Another part of it as well is the

05:12legislation around deforestation, the nature restoration law, something that the EPP, your own

05:16political group, again, was heralding as one of the most important pieces of the Green Deal,

05:22and then wanted to reject an end. Can you understand why people are anxious about this direction?

05:28Again, what we need to make sure is that we become less one-dimensional in the whole conversation about

05:35climate and about all the topics related to this. We need to go all-in in the domain of

05:41decarbonisation. And we need to do so for reasons of climate change, for reasons of industrial survival

05:49and success, and for reasons of independence. And if we are able to find that nexus of climate action,

05:57clean technology and industrial growth, I am very sure that we have a recipe that will work for everyone

06:04in the European Union. But just specifically, can you understand why people are anxious?

06:08That one minute we have this Green Deal, when we have a biodiversity collapse at the moment,

06:13and then the EPP saying, actually, let's scrap that. And then similarly with deforestation,

06:18and similarly with this. Let's take stock of the fact that this is the largest transition

06:23in energy that we have seen in more than 100 years. Our true north is clear. It is absolutely clear

06:31where we want to go. It is also smart to be flexible on the how, to be pragmatic and look at what works.

06:37If it doesn't work, you will need to course correct. And I think it is much smarter, and our citizens

06:44understand, to then do that and just, you know, continue with something that apparently didn't work.

06:49So with nature restoration, what would be the alternative? Because when you're looking at

06:53literally a biodiversity collapse? What we need to build, in my view, is a system where taking care

07:00of our forests also works economically, where there is a business case also for all the foresters that

07:06are doing a great job. That has all sorts of consequences for the longevity of certain trees.

07:12That has all sorts of consequences for the biodiversity in our forests. That's not easy, certainly not with

07:18the state in which our forests are today. But I think we can do better. You've said in the past a

07:24few times that you don't see global warming as a political issue. It shouldn't be, at least. But

07:27obviously it is, because you look at the European Parliament that has moved very much to the right,

07:32even the EPP, when it comes to the climate issue. And some member states, the likes of the Prime Minister

07:37of Italy, saying, you know, it's ideological, the issue of global warming. So first, just to be crystal clear,

07:44the problem of climate change is there. It is man-made and it will become worse before it gets

07:51better, particularly in Europe. The world is warming up roughly with 1.5 degrees by now. Europe is a

07:57twice that number. We're talking about three degrees. The impact on our societies, on our people,

08:02on our businesses, on our communities, in terms of floods, in terms of wildfires, is very, very significant.

08:10On top of that, the economic impact is easily between 50 and 100 billion, and that number will

08:16only go up. So there is a clear imperative, and in my view also a responsibility for politicians,

08:23to make sure our people are not in harm's way and we do something about it.

08:28What about the fact that the United States is also off the pitch when it comes to the fight

08:32against global warming? One of the first things, obviously, Donald Trump did was to

08:35withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord, and we see the policies enacted.

08:40Well, that is clearly deeply unfortunate and a major blow to international efforts.

08:46Earlier on in the interview, I was saying that climate change doesn't discriminate. It doesn't

08:51matter for the heating up of the planet where CO2 is being pumped into the air. And if then,

08:58the second largest emitter, the most formidable power across the globe in geopolitical terms,

09:04and the largest economy basically says, well, thanks, but no thanks, we no longer play ball,

09:08but play ball. That is, that is, of course, something that has very significant consequences.

09:13At the same time, my read is that you will see in the US that whenever an investment in,

09:19for example, cleantech pays off, and as a side effect is also something that is good for climate,

09:26businesses are not going to stop it. Yeah, do you think that could be an upshot for

09:30the European Union? Because we saw the likes of Draghi and others have said that innovation

09:34can't thrive in the European Union, but it can do in the United States.

09:38But maybe do you think that the EU could make an effort to try to bring a lot of that back,

09:43a specific effort, not just a sort of an accidental one where they decide themselves?

09:48Our quest for innovation, our objective is much more fundamental, and we need to reshape the

09:54landscape in such a way that innovation can flourish across Europe. And that will take huge

10:00steps in terms of the Capital Markets Union. That will take way more investments from businesses and

10:06governments alike in tech and in AI. And that also will take simplification. And by the way,

10:12as I said before, making sure there is a level playing field where our companies face competition,

10:19but fair competition and not heavily state subsidized competition from China.

10:23Is the EU about to meet that moment? Absolutely. Absolutely. And but the one thing I will say

10:29is we will need considerable speed going forward. And that is exactly what this commission seeks to

10:34deliver. And final question. The EU is obviously pursuing trade across the world outside the United

10:41States because of the ongoing trade war. But in the past, the EU has said that any new trade agreements

10:46will have to have very strong stipulations about protecting the environment and so on.

10:50Do you think that those might fall by the wayside in pursuit of trade deals to ensure that we have

10:55proper economic growth? No, I don't. And Mercosur is one of the great examples of that.

11:00That's exactly the type of deal that we seek. It opens up a huge market for our companies.

11:06By the way, it is also hugely attractive for our friends in Latin America.

11:10And it has clear prerequisites also in the domain of climate and of the environment.

11:16But the farmers who are in government in the Netherlands, who are obviously in a

11:20and the government has collapsed, but they're still in a in a government there.

11:24They are not happy with Mercosur. I have a different read.

11:27And if you if you would ask also the agri commissioner, Hansen, he will be the first

11:33to articulate to you that particularly also for our own sector, there is a huge opportunity

11:39that on top of that, he has been and the commission has been taken mitigating measures

11:44to make sure it is fair for everyone. And that is also the reason why, at least in my read,

11:49this is so broadly supported across member states. OK, Commissioner, thank you very much

11:53for joining us. Thank you. Your conversation. Thank you.

Category

Transcript

Recommended