EU pledges to stay green in recovery from coronavirus

The EC pledged Thursday to stay away from fossil-fueled projects in its coronavirus recovery strategy, and to stick to its target of making Europe the first climate neutral continent by the mid-century, but environmental groups said they were unimpressed. To weather the deep recession triggered by the pandemic, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has proposed a E1.85t package consisting of a revised long-term budget and a recovery fund, with 25% of the funding set aside for climate action. To help economies from the 27-nation bloc bounce back as quick as possible, the EU's executive arm wants to massively increase a E7.5b fund presented earlier this year that was part of an investment plan aiming at making the continent more environmentally friendly. Under the commission's new plan, which requires the approval of member states, the mechanism will be expanded to E40b and is expected to generate another E150b in public and private investment. The money is designed to help coal-dependent countries weather the costs of moving away from fossil fuels. Reacting to the executive arm's recovery plans, Greenpeace lashed out at a project it described as “contradictory at best and damaging at worst," accusing the commission of sticking to a growth-driven mentality detrimental to the environment. “The plan also fails to set strict social or green conditions on access to funding for polluters like airlines or carmakers."<br/>