Panel III: The Green Path to recovery: last call for Copenhagen

The EPP Statutory Debate on green innovation and climate change took place within the framework of the IVP. The welcome address was by EPP President Wilfried Martens, and the expert panel comprised of Stavros Dimas, EU Commissioner for Environment; Professor Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research; Karl Heinz Florenz MEP and Member of the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee in the European Parliament; and Ursula Heinen, Secretary of State in the German Federal Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. The panel was moderated by Christian Kremer, Deputy Secretary General of the EPP.

The second part of the panel debate focussed on Europe’s green path to recovery, and was led by Viviane Reding, Commissioner for Information Society and Media, Antonio Tajani, Vice President of the EU Commission and Commissioner for Transport; Ramón Luis Varcárcel, President of the Spanish Region of Murcia; Carsten Hess, Vice President and Head of Corporate Representation in Brussels for Deutsche Post and Elena Nemes Vintila, Representative of Computerland Romania Group. The discussion was moderated by CES Director Tomi Huhtanen.

Commissioner Reding sparked the discussion by emphasising the importance of framing ‘green issues’ in a way that is pertinent to Europeans, businesses, and policymakers at the national and European-level.

Commissioner Tajani discussed the political and scientific progress in developing transport technology with reduced carbon emissions.

President Varcárcel delved into the political, social and environmental aspects of the highly sensitive topic of water management policy.

Mr. Hess was successful in marrying the themes of his fellow panellists by highlighting the business opportunity that lies within the framework of ‘green policy’, and made a case for how it can be utilised to advance European competitiveness.

Ms. Nemes Vintila concluded the debate by providing the a new dynamic to the discussion, by highlighting how the green innovation can even pervade economic interests in rural communities across Europe, by giving examples of such successes from rural Romania.