BRUSSELS — Tax Big Oil, make Big Tech invest in renewables and protect Europe from climate disasters. Teresa Ribera’s post-summer policy wishlist isn’t short of ambitious ideas. 

In a 90-minute interview with POLITICO, the European Commission’s vice president for the green transition and competition policy discussed how she sees China, data centers, climate disaster funding, and more.

Some of her comments give a glimpse of the EU executive’s plans for the coming months, while others showcase Ribera’s own priorities. Climate change remains her top concern, and she returned throughout the interview to the recent heat waves, wildfires and drought that have ravaged Europe. “This summer has been madness,” she said. 

Two years into the job, the former Spanish ecological transition minister has also embraced the competitive aspect of her dual role, with her next big challenge being how to approach a potential breakup of search giant Google. 

Here are the five key takeaways from the interview. 

1. Brussels frets over climate costs

This summer has focused commissioners’ minds on the rising costs of climate change, said Ribera. 

Friday’s Commission meeting on fall priorities kicked off with a discussion on global warming, and the tone was “consistent” on needing to better protect Europe against the effects of climate change, she said. 

“On climate, there sometimes have been discussions on what is the right balance, to what extent is it compatible with competitiveness, and I think that it is increasingly clear that [climate action] is the only way forward in terms of competitiveness,” she argued, given that investments in curbing climate change are “lowering the cost” of future damages. 

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen “is sincerely committed to climate action and worried about the climate dimension,” Ribera said. “This summer has been such a big shock.” 

Among the team of commissioners, she said, “there is a sense of serious concern and a sense of urgency on climate action.” But she acknowledged, “I don’t know to what extent it is consistent with the speed that would be required” to meet green goals. 

2. Tax Big Oil to fund climate protection 

The Commission is working on a proposal to better protect Europe against climate disasters, but Ribera is thinking one step ahead. Once that plan is presented, she said, the EU needs to start thinking about how to pay for measures to climate-proof the continent. 

Last week, she told POLITICO that the EU should consider a bigger common budget, more joint debt or a levy on the profits of fossil fuel companies to raise the money. In this week’s interview, she doubled down on the idea of a windfall tax. 

While she pointed to a proposal for a global levy from United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, she also described a recent Spanish government proposal for a European fossil fuel tax as “interesting.” 

“I had a friend working in an oil company saying that … a well-managed oil company is the most profitable business. A badly-managed oil company is the second-most profitable business,” she joked. 

“But not so many people are getting these profits. And what we are already experiencing is that the impacts, the harms, the sorrow, the costs that are directly related to these profits are very high and are entirely socialized,” she added. “I think that it makes sense to open this discussion. I don’t know how far it can go.” 

3. Make Big Tech pay for data centers’ energy needs 

Ribera also worries about the environmental and societal impacts of large data centers proliferating in the EU. Grids and energy supply are already coming under strain, she noted. 

Her preferred solution: Force tech giants to invest in renewable energy generation to power their data centers, rather than allowing them to freely draw from the grid. 

“The companies behind this business are … concentrating market power and capacity in amounts that have not been perceived ever before. So, boldly speaking, they can be demanded to invest in what they may be needing and how it prevents additional conflicts with local communities,” she said. 

Ribera pointed to a draft decree unveiled by the Spanish government last month that would require data centers to source 80 percent of their electricity from newly installed wind and solar as a good example. (Our Energy and Climate Pro subscribers can read more on that here.) 

4. EU vs. Google

Speaking of Big Tech, Ribera is also in charge of the Commission’s pending decision on whether to insist on a breakup of Google after such a demand was ruled out in a recent court judgment in the U.S.

Ribera said that a consistent decision on both sides of the Atlantic would be preferable. “It’s always advisable to be sufficiently consistent, both for the companies, these global companies, the users, and the regulators,” she said.

But she didn’t show any signs of caving in to pressure coming from Washington to soften antitrust rules on Big Tech. Any decision, Ribera said, will be “based on our own capacities, assessments, and the compliance with our laws.” (Our Competition Pro subscribers can read more here.) 

5. Talk to China but stick to red lines 

Ribera has been known for a softer approach to China than many of her Commission colleagues. In this week’s interview, she argued for a mix of dialogue and trade measures to cope with the challenges Beijing’s manufacturing dominance poses to European industry.

“We need to find a way to address these imbalances” in trade with China, she said in the interview. At the same time, “I think that political dialogue is very important.” 

That doesn’t mean the EU should roll over when it comes to defending its industries, Ribera insisted. “I think using also the strengths to defend the hard positions is important — we will not just allow anything.”

Brussels needs to figure out “where are fields where we can work [together with China], what are the elements of caution that we need to take into consideration … and where are the aspects where the political dialogue should complement or update the way we handle it.” 

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