The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, told Italian daily "La Repubblica" that she has been promised by the Polish government that it would engage in common efforts to reach climate neutrality. She also admitted that Poland needs more time than other EU member-states.
Asked by the Italian daily if she would manage to launch the European Green Deal despite Poland not signing the agreement on EU climate neutrality, von der Leyen said: "Poland is starting from a higher level of coal dependence, and thus it needs to take a longer path compared to other countries".
"For that reason, it (Poland) has told us that it needs more time to find out what to do in order to reach that goal, however, it promised that in the summer it would engage in the drive for (EU) climate neutrality by 2050," the head of the EU Commission said in the interview published on Friday.
"I think it's positive that we all, including Poland, realise that the time has come to get involved in the fight against climate change," von der Leyen said.
She added that Italy has already experienced a "dramatic scope of climate change", and harked back to the recent flood that had inundated Venice.
Autor: gf / Źródło: TVN24 News in English, PAP, La Repubblica
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: EC - Audiovisual Service | Etienne Ansotte