Commission sets out €1-trillion green investment plan

Research and innovation promised ‘crucial role’, but many say plan does not go far enough

The European Commission has unveiled a €1-trillion investment plan intended to deliver on the promises it made in its European Green Deal package of proposals to re-tool EU economies towards environmental sustainability.

But the superficially impressive figure of “at least” €1tn would be spread over 10 years starting from 2021, so in reality it counts as less than half the additional €260 billion per year the Commission says is needed just to meet the EU’s existing 2030 climate change targets. Those targets are inadequate to meet the EU’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.