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The European Union should stand up to President Donald Trump and reject further purchases of US energy products, as foreseen in the $750bn trade deal between the transatlantic partners, climate czar Laurence Tubiana told Euronews’ flagship morning programme Europe Today on Monday.
Tubiana, who played a key role in the negotiations around the Paris Agreement, said that pressure from the Trump administration shouldn’t prevent the European Union from pursuing its climate goals of reaching climate neutrality by 2050.
Her appeal comes as the US pushes back against some key EU climate laws – such as the EU’s carbon border tax – aiming to slash greenhouse gas emissions and encourage more sustainable practices outside of the European Union.
“I haven’t seen anything like this in my whole life working on climate. I’ve never seen such aggressiveness from the US, including the pressure on Europe,” Tubiana told Euronews.
The French diplomat and economist said the EU needs to maintain its independence and economic security, noting that energy security is crucial to achieving that goal.
This means the EU27 shouldn’t create energy dependencies with any nation, instead, it should invest in diversification with reliable suppliers. Tubiana, said that developments from China are encouraging, citing massive investment in renewable energy.
She also noted that 85 countries at COP30 have shown political will to phase out fossil fuels, despite the US withdrawal from the United Nations climate summit.
“We have seen a major transformation of the world economy, in particular in green technology, the rise of China’s investment in renewable energy, the fact that almost all countries have a climate law now since Paris, and 88% of global emissions are covered by a commitment to be net zero by the mid-century,” Tubiana told Euronews.
Despite pressure from the US and the rollback of several climate laws in the EU, Tubiana remains confident that net-neutrality can still be achieved by 2050.
“If we increase the share of renewable energy, if we invest in decarbonisation, and of course, the industry, we can get there,” Tubiana said.
Every morning at 8 am CET, you can join Euronews’ chief anchor Méabh McMahon and our EU editor Maria Tadeo, who will bring you up to speed on the major news events of the day in our new daily show “Europe Today”.
