“The EU has turned environmentalism into a substitute religion”: An Interview with Paolo Borchia
By Alvaro Penas & José Papparelli, European Consevative.
Paolo Borchia is an Italian MEP for Lega Salvini Premier in the European Parliament. He is a coordinator in the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) of the European Parliament’s Identity and Democracy (ID) political grouping. A graduate in political science from the University of Padua, he worked for years as an administrator and consultant in private enterprise.
We spoke with the MEP about the EU’s green policies, the weight of ideology in their implementation, and their political, economic, and social consequences.
What is the European Green Deal and the goal of transforming Europe into the “first climate neutral continent”?
The Green Deal represents an overly ideological and very biased response to the issues surrounding the environment and the future of the planet. In this respect, the Lega Salvini Premier has a different vision: our party is very concerned that the Green Deal represents a wrong answer, as it is a totally ideologically unbalanced initiative—I would say a ‘Taliban’ answer in many respects. It represents a dangerous response that undermines the possibility of European businesses being competitive. It is also very dangerous from the point of view of maintaining the levels of employment we currently have in Europe. It is a response that will not solve the problem but will exacerbate it.
Look at the fact that in Europe we currently emit only 7.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, which is very low. By applying this type of regulation in the Green Deal, many sectors will be unfairly penalised: for example, agricultural production is one of the sectors most affected. If the Green Deal is implemented, as is likely, the demand for production in Europe will fall—with the economic and social consequences that this entails—and we will have to buy agricultural products from producers outside Europe who, paradoxically, will have lower prices and pollute much more. This is one of the negative consequences as a result of the implementation of this green regulation. We must succeed in reversing these harmful trends that have been imposed by the Ursula von der Leyens and Frans Timmermans of the European Union.
But it is paradoxical that Europe pretends to impose restrictive climate measures of dubious effectiveness on itself as the most environmentally friendly region when countries like China or India pollute much more and indiscriminately.
That is the way it is. The goal of making Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050 is probably too ambitious a target, and it will be very difficult to achieve without the commitment of other countries. On a general level, I see that here in Europe too much attention is paid to ideology, while outside—and at the geopolitical level—economies and the competitiveness of companies is much more protected. We are therefore very concerned about how the situation is developing from the point of view of climate and energy policies in Europe.
Related Posts
Tags
Share This
