BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 10. Europe is currently facing not just a security crisis, but also urgent climate and competitiveness challenges that demand immediate action, European Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jørgensen said during the opening of the EU Sustainable Energy Week, Trend reports.
“The security crisis is not the only crisis that we face in Europe right now. Two other crises are also imminent. First and foremost, obviously, the climate crisis,” Jørgensen said.
Highlighting the severity of global warming, the commissioner pointed out that 2024 marked the hottest year on record, and 2025 is on course to surpass it.
“Climate change is here. It’s not something that might happen in the future. It’s not something that we fear could be a future prospect. It’s here now. And the consequences are a catastrophe. Forest fires, droughts, floodings. We’re losing lives already now in Europe, in our own part of the world,” he stressed.
He also drew attention to the disproportionate impact on vulnerable countries.
“If we look at other parts of the world, look to the developing countries, unfortunately, the most vulnerable countries on this planet are hit even harder. They’re the ones that are hit the hardest,” Jørgensen said, underlining the moral obligation to act.
“It’s a moral imperative to do something about this. It’s a moral imperative to fight climate change, especially since... we in the West, including Europe, have polluted for more than 100 years.”
Calling for strong European leadership in the green transition, he warned against complacency.
“It is a leadership that we need to pursue. Because if we don’t lead this transition, if we don’t stay focused as a union, then I fear that we will backtrack globally,” the commissioner noted.
Jørgensen emphasized the need to accelerate change, highlighting several key areas: “We need to fast track. For us, this means better and faster permitting, more investments, less bureaucracy.”
He also pointed to the continent’s energy competitiveness challenge: “We are also in a crisis of competitiveness. We pay two to three times more for our energy in Europe than they do in the US and China.”
High energy prices, he added, are not just hurting industries, but also citizens: “47 million people did not last year have the ability to adequately heat their homes.”
In closing, Jørgensen called for unity and commitment: “To address these three challenges — security, climate change, competitiveness — we need to stay on track. The green transition is not the reason for these problems. The green transition is the answer for these challenges.”