EVENT
European Business Summit 2021 How Europe is Paving the Way in the Fight Against Climate Change by EBR
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he summit opened with Executive Vice President for the European Green Deal, Frans Timmermans, who had a lot to say about his time in Glasgow. Audiences had the privilege to listen to Mr. Timmermans’s insights. With regards to COP26, the Executive Vice President stated that “Cop26 was not the success we had hoped for, but it was certainly not a failure. In 2020, only 30% of the world’s economy had declared their net-zero goal. Now it is 90%. That is an advancement. We are speeding up. But I think we can go even faster next year”.. This year marks the 21st edition of the European Business Summit. Before the pandemic, EBS would host grand events, where debates and interviews happened face-toface, and audience members could interact with the panelists. Once the pandemic hit, EBS changed to a hybrid, limiting the number of audiences who could attend in person but allowing the rest to attend virtually. Offering audiences the chance to tune in online was a success; at the 20th edition of the summit, over 6.000 participants connected to get the chance to watch as policymakers and partners discussed serious issues affecting Europe. He highlighted
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the importance to achieving 1.5, which is in reference to the Paris Agreement’s objective to keep the global temperature increase to below 2°C and keep it to 1.5°C. “We cannot stop even one day; we have to continue to work very hard to achieve that 1.5. We need to make sure we have much more money for the developing world. Now that the world is coming out of the Covid crisis, we will see economic activity increase, we will see emissions increase. Mr. Timmermans finished his interview with a quick overview of the Fit for 55 plan. As part of the European Green Deal, the European Union is committing to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030. Mr. Timmermans promised spectators that “we will see the first results all through the French presidency next year”. This year, the summit’s premise was, Beyond Recovery: Towards a Sustainable and Innovative Europe. There panels and interviews covered a wide range of timely topics like Cop26, the Green Deal, Clean Energy, and Transatlantic Relationship. EBS received a lot of media attention this year, with moderators from Wall Street Journal, Financial Times,
