Talking Europe hosts the newly appointed EU Commissioner for Climate Action, Wopke Hoekstra. The EU has put the Green Deal at the heart of its policy making, and Hoekstra was confirmed in the key job after somewhat fractious hearings in the European Parliament, where some MEPs drew attention to his past work for oil and gas giant Shell. We discuss his plans for implementing the green transition, and the upcoming COP28 summit in Dubai.
Hoekstra insists that his past association with Shell does not make him the wrong person for the job. “I worked for them until, I think, 2004. So not exactly the Stone Age, but quite a while ago. I will be absolutely, completely independent, and make sure that we speak truth to power when that is required,” Hoekstra says.
Was he disappointed that 179 MEPs voted against him? (Some 279 voted in favour, and 33 abstained). “No, I think these numbers are decent and, in any case, what I will do is reach out to people of course in the centre, but also on the left and on the right, because a topic like this that is so truly transformational for our societies deserves as broad support as we can get,” Hoekstra says.
“Actually, reaching out is something we should do at various levels,” Hoekstra goes on to say. “First of all, within the European Union. Secondly, working across the political spectrum and then third, reaching out to our friends across the global stage.”
Hoekstra is busy preparing for the crucial COP28 climate summit in Dubai. The EU has started a process to establish a 2040 climate target, putting the EU on a path towards climate neutrality by 2050. So what is Hoekstra hoping to get out of the COP?
“If you zoom out a bit, you could say we actually have three things to do. One is to be very ambitious on our own climate action for 2040 and, of course, beyond, and driving down the emissions. The second thing is making sure we do much more with the global community, because the number that stuck with me is that actually 93 percent of emissions now takes place outside of Europe. That doesn’t mean at all that we shouldn’t drive down to 7 percent as quickly as we can, but there is more to be done. And the third – and that is a difficult thing also technologically – we need to make more work of removals. So removing the carbon that is already in the air.”
Asked about completing the European Green Deal, and the call by some politicians in the EU for an environmental pause, Hoekstra sums up: “I think there is no alternative to continuation, ambition and outreach. And of course you always have to take feasibility into account with whatever measure you’re taking. And, by the way, that is one of the reasons we will spend significant money in Europe in the years to come, on solidarity – to make sure that people whose job might change or whose environment might be affected are actually helped out and can have a bright future, even though that might be in different jobs from the jobs they have today.”
Produced by Perrine Desplats, Isabelle Romero and Sophie Samaille