EU leaders to consider climate in coronavirus recovery plan

European Union leaders have agreed that the bloc’s coronavirus economic recovery plan should take heed of its aim to fight climate change. Following a six-hour video conference, the 27 EU leaders agreed late on Thursday to coordinate a coronavirus economic recovery plan.

The leaders agreed that it should be consistent with the “green transition,” the phrase the EU uses to describe the aim of reducing emissions that heat the planet, a statement said.

The EU’s executive commission wants its 27 member states to sign up at a summit in June to plans to make the entire bloc greenhouse gas neutral by 2050.

So far, Poland is the only holdout. The government in Warsaw has warned that the pandemic will make EU climate targets harder to reach.