Verbatim report of proceedings

Thursday, 12 November 2020 - Brussels

Sustainable Europe Investment Plan - How to finance the Green Deal (debate)

  Martin Hojsík (Renew). – Madam President, two days ago, we achieved something very important for our future, the deal about the MFF, as well as the Next Generation Fund, is not only about ensuring 30% for climate, but also about 10% for biodiversity by 2026. I’m glad that our colleagues in the Council finally understood that we don’t only face a climate crisis, we also face a biodiversity crisis. But our success to become sustainable, our success to achieve carbon neutrality, live within planetary boundaries, can only be done then when its not about 30 or 10%, when its about policy coherence. When the entire budget, the remaining 70%, in terms of climate for example, are not undermining the effort.

Our integration of sustainability in our policies and politics has to also cover public funds. Today we discuss the plan to unlock EUR 1 trillion of sustainable investments over ten years. We cannot afford and we don’t want pretty packaging for an empty box, no empty promises and no greenwashing. We already lost many years and cannot lose more.

That is why I believe that all EU-supported investments and finance need to be subject to the EU taxonomy, and need to be in line with the ‘do no harm’ principle. We cannot undermine what we will achieve. We need to make sure that not only our left hand knows what our right hand is doing, but that we work hand-in-hand.