European Leaders Want to Come out Cleaner and Greener After COVID-19 Recovery

European Union leaders have called on the European Commission to prepare a coronavirus recovery plan that is consistent with fighting climate change, in what the EU describes as a “green transition”.

The European Council should “prepare the measures necessary to get back to a normal functioning of our societies and economies and to sustainable growth, integrating inter alia the green transition and the digital transformation, and drawing all lessons from the crisis,” highlights the final statement, written by the 27 council members after a six-hour video conference. “This will require a coordinated exit strategy, a comprehensive recovery plan and unprecedented investment.”

“People’s welfare in the longer term is inextricably linked to the health of our environment and climate,” says Ester Asin, European Policy Office director at the World Wildlife Fund, which joined other environmental groups in urging for a transparent and future-proof recovery plan, “A truly ambitious, people-centred European Green Deal must be part of the response and will leave Europe better equipped to tackle the ongoing climate and biodiversity emergencies.”