Ursula von der Leyen: Greece and Spain struck by ravaging wildfires and floods

Greece and Spain were struck by ravaging wildfires and were hit again only a few weeks later by devastating floods, European Parliament President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday during the 2023 State of the Union Address.

"This is the reality of a boiling planet," she underlined, adding that "we saw the chaos and carnage of extreme weather – from Slovenia to Bulgaria and right across our Union."

The European Green Deal, she stated, was born out of this necessity to protect our planet. "But it was also designed as an opportunity to preserve our future prosperity."

She stressed that the EU has set a long-term perspective with the climate law and the 2050 target.

"We shifted the climate agenda to being an economic one, which has given a clear sense of direction for investment and innovation," she said and added:

"We have already seen this growth strategy delivering in the short-term. Europe's industry is showing every day that it is ready to power this transition.

Proving that modernisation and decarbonisation can go hand in hand."

The President of the European Commission also noted that in the last five years, the number of clean steel factories in the EU has grown from zero to 38.