EU OUTLINES PLAN FOR CLEAN TECH FUTURE BOOSTED BY SUBSIDIES

The European Union pushed forward with a major cleantech industrial plan which not only should keep the continent in the vanguard of plotting a greener future but also guarantee its economic survival as it faces challenges from China and the United States.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented the outlines for her “Green Deal Industrial Plan” that will make it much easier to push through subsidies for green industries and pool EU-wide projects that are boosted with major funding as the EU pursues the goal of being climate neutral by 2050.

“We know that we have a small window to invest in clean tech and innovation to gain leadership before the fossil fuel economy becomes obsolete,” von der Leyen said.

At the same time in Germany, climate protests resumed Tuesday over the destruction of a small village to allow expansion of a coal mine, as the country strives to boost its energy security amid the cut in Russian gas supply.

Von der Leyen used a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos to say that on top of feeding its own industry, the 27-nation bloc will become much more forceful in countering unfair trading practices, if they come from Washington, or more importantly, Beijing.

“We see aggressive attempts to attract our industrial capacities away to China and elsewhere,” she said.