In this episode of Columbia Bizcast, we hear Wopke Hoekstra, the European Union’s Commissioner for Climate Action, share his perspectives on tackling one of the greatest challenges of our time.
The conversation, held during Climate Week and co-sponsored by Columbia Climate School and Columbia Business School’s Tamer Institute for Social Enterprise and Climate Change, featured Hoekstra alongside climate economist Professor Gernot Wagner, Senior Lecturer in the Discipline of Economics and Faculty Director of the Tamer Institute’s Climate Knowledge Initiative.
As the EU’s top advocate for environmental sustainability, Commissioner Hoekstra has played a pivotal role in shaping climate policies across Europe. In the podcast, he underscores why climate change ranks among the top three global challenges—not just for Europe, but also for the United States.
“Climate change is not just an environmental issue; its impacts are financial and geopolitical as well,” Hoekstra explained.
Hoekstra emphasized that simply raising awareness about climate damage is no longer sufficient to mobilize citizens and businesses. Instead, he called for specific, targeted action, focusing on four priorities: relentless climate action; just-transition goals; supporting companies with high climate standards to prevent a shift of production to less-regulated areas; and global diplomacy to foster climate collaboration.
“The EU and United States can’t just wait for others to fix this,” Hoekstra said. “We need to lead.”
Listen to the podcast using the link above, or watch a video of the event here:
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