The European Union must pursue its climate goals without undermining its industrial strength, energy security and social cohesion, stated Marco Marsilio, President of the ECR Group in the European Committee of the Regions and President of the Abruzzo Region, during a plenary debate with European Commission Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera.
President Marsilio argued that Europe’s climate and energy transition must be driven by pragmatism rather than ideology. “We European Conservatives are convinced that the transition must be guided by pragmatism, not by ideology. Of course, European citizens want a cleaner environment, but they also want jobs and to be able to pay their energy bills at the end of the month”.
The President of the Abruzzo Region warned that the current design of the Emissions Trading System (ETS) is increasingly becoming a burden on European industry. While originally created to reduce emissions, he argued that the mechanism in its current form risks penalising European production if competitiveness concerns are not adequately addressed.
“We cannot save the planet by destroying Europe’s productive base. Decarbonisation must never become deindustrialisation.” Against this backdrop, Marsilio called for a substantial political rethink of the ETS during its upcoming revision, stressing our markets cannot continue to structurally penalise our companies.
“Conservative regions and cities are asking for more realism, greater flexibility and an approach that takes into account the economic and territorial differences between Member States.”, he said while stressing the importance of maintaining technological neutrality in Europe’s energy strategy. He argued that the EU should remain open to all solutions capable of contributing to lower emissions and greater energy security, including next-generation nuclear technologies.
“Europe must lead the transition, but it must do so without sacrificing its industrial strength, its energy security and the social cohesion of its communities.”, he concluded.