Flemish greens' (Groen) leader Aimen Horch on Saturday called for a single inter-federal climate command unit, arguing that Belgium’s fragmented system has left the Arizona government failing to act on climate.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Flemish green party’s political relaunch in Mechelen, in Antwerp province, Horch said Belgium had more climate ministers than water-bombing aircraft after six state reforms.
He said climate policy had become so divided that each minister could shift responsibility to another level of government, with the result that no effective action was taken.
According to Horch, the wildfire that devastated the Hautes Fagnes illustrated the problem, as no authority appeared to have taken responsibility because powers were so fragmented.
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Under Groen’s proposal, officials currently dealing with climate issues at the various levels of government would be brought together in a single team.
That team would be tasked with developing a coherent national climate policy. Horch also criticised the Arizona government’s budget policy, saying it was not restoring the public finances.
Instead, he said, the coalition was unravelling social security and dismantling social protection while the budget figures continued to deteriorate.
Groen is therefore calling for lower reliance on fossil fuels and for savings on subsidies for businesses.
Horch also called for what he described as a fair contribution from the wealthiest through a genuine tax on millionaires.
He further urged an end to what he called “irresponsible” decisions, including the expansion of flexi-jobs and the continuation of abuses linked to management companies.
