(Adnkronos) – The government is “committed” to battling climate change but believes the European Union’s agreed law banning combustion engine cars by 2035 is “wrong” due to the 70,000 jobs that will be lost, Italy’s foreign minister Antonio Tajani said on Tuesday.
“We are committed to the fight against climate change,” Tajani said on the sidelines of a business forum in Rome.
“But we have always said that some measures of the European Commission in the previous legislature are wrong,” he continued.
Besides preventing Italian companies from being competitive, the decision to require new cars sold in the EU to have zero carbon emissions will “make workers pay, above all”, Tajani argued.
“The decision…will cause 70,000 jobs to be lost. There are always social issues to be addressed whenever we talk about climate change,” he underlined.
“It (climate change) is a just fight but one to be conducted pragmatically” said Tajani.
Asked to comment on US president Donald Trump’s executive order on Monday to pull out from the landmark 2015 Paris climate accord for the second time – Tajani said: “The United States has its own vision.”
Italy’s right-wing government believes the European Commission should give members greater freedom in choosing the technology they prefer to meet decarbonisation targets. It supports a more gradual shift away from fossil-fuels involving the development of a mix of energy sources including renewables, hydrogen and nuclear power.
