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URSULA VON DER LEYEN: FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE CAN'T WAIT The ambitious European Union spending plan, unveiled by European Commission President Ursula von Der Leyen, is part of

Brussels’ plan to become carbon neutral by 2050. Around half of the €1trillion would come from the EU’s long-term budget. National Governments would have to contribute €100billion, with

€300billion coming from the private sector. Another €7.5billion from the 2021-2027 EU budget is being earmarked as seed funding to leverage a further €100 billion in investment. RELATED

ARTICLES > The Green Deal comes with important investment needs, which we will > turn into investment opportunities. The plan that we present today, > to mobilise at least €1 

trillion, will show the direction and > unleash a green investment wave >  > Ursula von der Leyen The investment includes a seven-year, €100billion “Just Transition Fund”, aimed at

helping to finance the transition in regions heavily dependent on coal or polluting industries. Ms von der Leyen said: “The Green Deal comes with important investment needs, which we will

turn into investment opportunities. “The plan that we present today, to mobilise at least €1 trillion, will show the direction and unleash a green investment wave.” Frans Timmermans, the

European Commission executive vice president responsible for the Commission’s flagship European Green Deal policy, added: “What we are doing here is a message to coal miners in Asturias,

western Macedonia or Silesia. To the peat harvesters in the Irish Midlands, Baltic regions reliant on oil shale, and many more. EU news: Ursula von der Leyen has come under fire over the

ambitious new Green Deal (Image: GETTY) EU news: Ursula von der Leyen insisted the Green Deal 'will turn into investment opportunities' (Image: GETTY) “We know that you face a

steeper path towards climate-neutrality. And we know that the prospect of a different future, a cleaner one, might be a welcoming prospect in general, but the road to it looks daunting

today.” But the EU has come under savage attack, with several EU countries refusing to commit their funds to the project and asking how the bloc can afford to fund it when the budget is

already under intense scrutiny. Germany’s finance ministry has rejected calls for more funding, stating the current EU budget is already sufficient to meet the continent’s climate goal of

going carbon neutral by 2050. The bloc’s largest economy has also rejected any plan to increase the capital limit on the European Investment Bank, which Ms von Der Leyen had suggested could

help close the funding gap. READ MORE: BREXIT LIVE: MERKEL BREAKS HER SILENCE ON BREXIT – FEARS FOR EU EU news: The European Commission President announced the €1trillion plan (Image: GETTY)

RELATED ARTICLES In a debate in the European Parliament in Strasbourg earlier this week, German Green MEP Niklas Nienaß raged: Mr Timmermans, please. We both know there is not €100 billion

in the Just Transition Mechanism but €7.5billion. “When a street magician tries to trick its audience in such a way, we call that a sleight of hand.” Local leaders are also sceptical of the

Commission’s ideas and have raised concerns about their feasibility. Vojko Obersnel, mayor of the Croatian port city of Rijeka, said: “All additional financial promises by the Commission are

high hopes for the moment — but will they be able to deliver in the regions?” DON'T MISS EU FURY: COMMISSIONER LAUNCHES SCATHING ATTACK ON PUTIN [COMMENT] HOW BORIS JOHNSON ENRAGED EU

WITH EURO PREDICTION: 'WE WARNED YOU!' [ANALYSIS] BREXITEER ON JEREMY VINE DEMANDS BRUSSELS FOOTS BILL FOR BIG BEN [INTERVIEW] EU news: Frans Timmermans came under attack from a

furious German MEP (Image: REUTERS) EU news: Johan Van Overtveldt questioned how the plan would be funded (Image: GETTY) Even the European Parliament’s head of its Budget Committee Johan Van

Overtveldt said: “It carries a one-trillion euros prize tag. Where the money should be coming from remains extremely unclear. “We are against the recycling of promises and money. We don’t

back creative bookkeeping and financial adventures.” Katie Treadwell, energy policy officer at WWF European Policy Office, warned all nations EU nations will have to pull in the same

direction for its ambitious plan to come to fruition. She said: “A climate-neutral Europe needs everyone to play their part. The proposed just transition mechanism is an important step

towards making that happen. “But a ‘just transition’ is not ‘just’ if regions are locked into unviable fossil fuels. It is not a ‘transition’ if there is no deadline for getting climate

neutral. “MEPs and EU member states must improve the proposal so that regions show how and by when they will get free from gas, oil and coal.” Sebastian Mang from Greenpeace EU was even more

scathing in his criticism, and said: “If this funding is really meant to promote a green transition, it must only be available to governments that are committed to that transition and have

a clear plan to ditch coal. “If they want the cash, the likes of Poland and the Czech Republic will have to prove they are serious about tackling the climate emergency. “For the European

Green Deal to be successful, all funding, including from the EU budget, needs to stop supporting fossil fuels, nuclear energy and other destructive industries.”