EU doesn't need stricter climate targets, says Belgian PM

Stricter climate targets are not immediately necessary, according to Belgian prime minister Alexander De Croo. "As a politician, it is easy to announce stricter targets. The difficulty lies in how we will achieve the current targets," he said on Tuesday. He instead wants to see more funding for technology and innovation.

De Croo will travel to Dubai on Thursday for the COP28 climate summit. Before his departure, he met representatives of companies including BASF, Besix and Jan De Nul, before speaking to the press.

He believes that the European climate ambitions are good, but that the main difficulty lies in their implementation and says it is crucial to give the industry a financial boost.

In this respect, De Croo sees an important role for the EU. At present, European climate legislation is too rigid and leaves its industry with too little room to manoeuvre. While in the US - with the Inflation Reduction Act - and in China, industry is getting a helping hand.

De Croo therefore calls for a Clean Industry Act to help industry in Europe to make the necessary investments: "Because if industry leaves Europe, we all lose."

^{© BELGA PHOTO JAMES ARTHUR GEKIERE}