KIRUNA, Sweden (Reuters) – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday stressed the need to establish the funding needs for the development of green technologies so that the European Union can compete with the United States in this domain.
Ursula von der Leyen said the EU was already investing significant amounts in green industry through its post-COVID-19 recovery fund, while the US passed legislation last year to to support projects in the field of the fight against global warming.
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), enacted in August by US President Joe Biden, provides tax credits and subsidies to support the energy transition of companies.
“We want to compete on quality. It’s important. We don’t want to compete on the issue of subsidies. First of all, we have to determine what the needs are,” said Ursula von der Leyen during a press conference.
The President of the EC also explained that the EU should develop its own tools to stimulate investment in green industry.
“Beyond state aid, we should also develop financing tools that will meet our investment needs in green technologies,” she said.
(Report Jan Strupczewski; French version Camille Raynaud, edited by Nicolas Delame)
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