BRUSSELS — The European Union is imperiling its own climate efforts by whacking people with too many sticks and not offering enough carrots, the bloc’s former crisis management chief told POLITICO.
Janez Lenarčič spent much of the past five years helping countries in Europe and beyond mop up after various calamities. His term in the European Commission, which ended Dec. 1, not only spanned the pandemic and the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but also a dramatic surge in floods, fires and other disasters fueled by global warming.
Yet as climate catastrophes mount on European soil, demands for urgent action to tackle their cause — primarily the continued use of oil, gas and coal — haven’t grown louder. Instead, calls to slow the green transition now dominate the EU’s climate debate.
The EU’s approach to reducing planet-warming emissions is partly to blame, Lenarčič said in an interview just before leaving office.
