Massive investment needed to drive green, digital transformation, says European Council president

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) - European Council President Charles Michel emphasized the critical importance Thursday of a green and digital industrial revolution for the 21st century.

"We need massive investment in a short period of time. That means finding the right balance between public and private sector investments," said Michel as he outlined his vision for a future that combines sustainable growth with technological innovation.

He stressed that the urgency of the situation demands unprecedented levels of investment in a relatively short time to address pressing challenges such as climate change, economic inequality and digital transformation.

The EU considers climate change and environmental degradation a great threat to Europe and the world.

To overcome the challenges, it plans to form a new growth strategy that would transform the Union's economy into a sustainable one.

The bloc wants to be climate neutral by 2050.

Meanwhile, experts have raised alarms about the supposed "green growth" achieved by high-income countries in a ground-breaking study published in The Lancet Planetary Health journal.

Contrary to political claims, the research reveals that those nations' current growth-oriented strategies are drastically insufficient to meet climate goals outlined in the Paris Agreement, ultimately jeopardizing global efforts to combat climate change.

The study indicates that even among the 11 high-income countries that have managed to "decouple" carbon emissions from GDP growth, progress in reducing emissions is falling woefully short.