Von der Leyen must stand up to the most powerful governments and industries

William Todts, executive director of T&E, said: “Von der Leyen offers a European ‘green deal’ and says climate is her top priority. This is incredibly positive but the big question now is how she plans to deliver on her ambitions. For transport, she appears to be betting heavily on carbon pricing. This absolutely makes sense for the undertaxed and underregulated aviation and shipping sectors, but for road transport it is a high-risk, low-benefit strategy.”

Todts concluded: “Von der Leyen has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fix Europe’s climate policy. The big test will be whether she decides to put the European Commission’s lawmaking and investment power to good use, even when that means standing up to the most powerful governments and industries.”