Remarks by President Charles Michel at the Climate Ambition Summit 2020
© European Union, 2020, Source: Council of the EU – Audiovisual resourcesFive years since the Paris agreements! I am pleased to join you virtually from Brussels to bring you good news, a strong message. Yesterday, the 27 European leaders met and made a specific, clear and ambitious commitment. The ambition to reduce our emissions by at least 55% by 2030. Exactly one year ago, in December 2019, we committed ourselves to climate neutrality in 2050. We are going to remain fully engaged because this is a total paradigm shift for us.
That is also the idea behind the financial agreement that has been reached at European level. €1.8 trillion will be mobilised over the coming years, of which at least 30% will be earmarked to meet this climate change challenge. We see this as a project for society, a project for prosperity, which is being realised through the European Green Deal. It is a set of ambitious measures to develop innovation, support jobs, and improve the living environment.
We also want to take diplomatic action. We know that multilateral mobilisation, international cooperation, will be key. And it is on that basis that, in economic partnerships and trade partnerships, we want to systematically encourage all of our partners around the world to join us in this same ambition.
This is the challenge for our generation: to focus all of our collective intelligence, all of our determination, on rising to this challenge, on being equal to the task as a sign of our respect and regard for humanity. And for the generations that come after us.
