Keynote speech by Commissioner Hoekstra at the Brussels Economic Security Forum (BESF)

European Commission -Speech [Check Against Delivery] Keynote speech by Commissioner Hoekstra at the Brussels Economic Security Forum (BESF) Brussels, 5 June 2025 "Climate, Security, Economy: forging ties for greater resilience in a changing multipolar world" (Introduction) Many thanks for inviting me here today. This Commission is now seven months in office and so much has changed in that intervening period. In just a couple of months, we've experienced the onset on a geopolitical winter, marked by greater power competition. On the climate front, the landscape has also changed: The US pulling out of the Paris Agreement. Here in Europe, people worrying about the impact of climate policies on their finances and way of life. And immediate pressures like cost of living and security threats garnering more public attention. All of which makes climate politics more complicated than it was, even just one year ago. But it will continue to be as relevant as before. (Security and economic implications of climate change) Contrary to what some want you to believe, climate action is not a bleeding heart / ideological / activist / hobby. It's not about saving the planet. The planet has been there for 5-6 billion years. And will probably withstand its 4.5-billion-year history. But our ecosystems – our economies, our societies, our way of life – won't do the same. If anything, climate action is about our jobs in a competitive, circular economy moving into...