On Monday 25 November, the European Commission announced the appointment of Belgian environmentalist Philippe Lamberts as adviser to President Ursula von der Leyen. His advisory role will look at how to achieve the European Union’s goal of climate neutrality by 2050, starting with the climate targets set for 2030.
The former Co-Chair of the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament will be responsible for building bridges between stakeholders and reporting back on trends in the business world and civil society so that the European Commission can take them into account in their policy making. According to the EU institution, it is “of the utmost importance to better explain the transition, implement existing legislation in a simplified way, and make sure no one is left behind”.
Mr Lamberts, whose contract will run for the duration of the ‘von der Leyen II’ Commission, will work closely with Mrs von der Leyen and her cabinet. He will also be supported by a small team of experts, although the exact number of these is yet to be determined.
European environmentalists played “an important role in securing a pro-European majority at my re-election”, said Mrs von der Leyen in a press release. And she added: “For me, the Greens/EFA group is part of the pro-European majority in the European Parliament like the platform that I want to continue working with, for example on topics like reaching our climate targets, the Clean Industrial Deal, cutting red tape and global engagement [of the EU]”.
Ms von der Leyen is convinced that the 61-year-old Belgian environmentalist will act as a “bridge-builder” to enable the EU to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)