Czech PM warns economic impacts of EU green policy could be dire

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, who is due to address the Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, has called for greater realism on the part of the European Union in its green policy. Before his departure for Glasgow, the Czech prime minister said he would devote his speech to the adverse economic consequences for the continent if Europe was overly ambitious in its plans. He said that in such a case there was a real threat that investors would leave Europe in favour of the United States and Asia. Environment Minister Richard Brabec likewise stressed that Europe should not wave the green flag alone, as he put it, saying that it was important to get the big polluters outside the EU to make a public commitment as well.

The outgoing Czech prime minister has championed nuclear power as a way to help meet the UN’s development agenda regarding global warming. But Babiš has denounced the EU’s plan to cut carbon emissions via the Green Deal regarding phasing out combustion engines and coal production.