Ursula von der Leyen announced a fresh expansion of the EU’s green agenda during a speech to the World Economic Forum on Tuesday.
Speaking in Davos, Switzerland, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen praised globalist leaders for their work in lowering carbon emissions, before committing the European Union to even further industrial green agenda goals.
It comes as the ongoing energy crisis plaguing the bloc — which largely came about as a result of the union’s climate policy — put it at risk of “permanent deindustrialisation”, with industry fleeing abroad in the hopes of availing of cheaper gas and electricity prices.
Rather than trying to roll back on these goals in the hopes of dropping the cost of energy, Von der Leyen instead declared on Tuesday that the bloc will double down on its green agenda in the hopes of somehow saving its dying industrial sector.
In particular, the Commission President announced that she will push for the passing of a “Net-Zero Industry Act”, which she says will aim to rally green investment into vital parts of European industry.
“The new Net-Zero Industry Act will identify clear goals for European clean tech by 2030,” she told globalists gathered at the conference.
“The aim will be to focus investment on strategic projects along the entire supply chain,” the commission president continued. “We will especially look at how to simplify and fast-track permitting for new clean-tech production sites.”
Von der Leyen also said that she wanted the EU to look at temporarily “adapt” some of its state-aid rules preventing countries from funnelling money into businesses.
“To keep European industry attractive, there is a need to be competitive with the offers and incentives that are currently available outside the EU,” she remarked. “This is why we will propose to temporarily adapt our state aid rules to speed up and simplify.”
However, with such funding tied so heavily to the bloc’s green agenda push, it remains unclear whether it will be enough to save the union’s dying industrial sector.
While an uncharacteristically warm winter across the continent has largely saved EU nations from experiencing power shortages, the bloc has nevertheless seen the price of both gas and electricity spike to severe levels.
This has in turn threatened the viability of many businesses on the continent, with one heavy industry group writing to Von der Leyen last year to warn her that the union faces “permanent deindustrialisation” should nothing be done.
“We are deeply concerned that the winter ahead could deliver a decisive blow to many of our operations, and we call on EU and Member State leaders to take emergency action to preserve their strategic electricity-intensive industries and prevent permanent job losses,” the letter signed by businesses throughout the metals sector read.
“Producers face electricity and gas costs over ten times higher than last year, far exceeding the sales price for their products,” it continued. “We know from experience that once a plant is closed it very often becomes a permanent situation, as re-opening implies significant uncertainty and cost.”
Since then, there has been increasing concern about measures implemented by the likes of the United States to curb the impact of inflation, with it being feared that EU industry could lose out, or even flee abroad, should the energy crisis not be curtailed at home.