EU Commission plans to appease Trump and polluting industry

Brussels – European Commission plans aimed at reducing energy prices, the ‘affordable energy action plan’, and boosting European industry, the ‘clean industrial deal’ released today are a gift to polluting industries, Greenpeace warned.

These plans would see EU investments in infrastructure for liquified fossil gas (LNG) overseas, a move that would further lock the EU into dependency on imported fossil fuels, increasing Europe’s climate-wrecking emissions and people’s energy bills, according to Greenpeace. These investments in new gas terminals also ignore plummeting imports of liquefied gas, and falling demand for gas generally. The proposals also fail to capitalise on the substantial reductions in fossil fuel imports that the Commission itself calculates could come from increased investment in renewable energy and cutting energy waste.

On the plans for energy and industry, Greenpeace EU climate campaigner Lorelei Limousin said: “The EU Commission’s own figures show that renewables and cutting energy waste could bring fossil fuel imports down rapidly – and our climate pollution, energy bills and energy dependency with them. This Commission is vague on cutting energy waste while, to appease Trump, wants to invest in polluting gas infrastructure overseas that will keep Europe hooked on this expensive and dangerous fuel for decades. The Commission has also bent to the nuclear lobby and is considering funding this decrepit, costly sector. These plans are a lifeline for floundering, polluting industries looking for public money, but leaves ordinary people still struggling to heat their homes.”

As part of the plan for industry, the European Commission bends to nuclear lobbying pressure and considers nuclear public funding, while nuclear is not clean or competitive.