New climate pact is EU's "man on the moon moment" - chief executive

The European Union's executive wants to mobilize 100 billion euros worth of investment to help the bloc's economies become more environmentally friendly, European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday. Von der Leyen will propose her hallmark "Green Deal" for the EU later on Wednesday to commit the bloc to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.

Her proposal will feed into a discussion on Thursday and Friday by the bloc's national leaders, where Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic are reluctant to go further in cutting greenhouse gas emissions. "This is Europe's man on the moon moment," von der Leyen told journalists before making her climate pitch.