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United Nations – Czech Environment Minister Igor Cerveny warned in an interview with Fox News Digital that Europe risks destroying its industrial base unless its leaders step back from aggressive climate policies and respond to voters demanding economic results.
“If we don’t change course, we’ll probably crush the industry,” Cervany said during his first visit to the United Nations. Where he addressed the United Nations High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.
Cerveny pointed to pressure on European manufacturers, particularly the automotive sector, and warned that companies are increasingly shifting production overseas.
The debate comes as Europe faces increasing pressure to revive its economy while maintaining ambitious climate targets. The discussion is increasingly relevant for the United States, Europe’s largest trading partner, as Washington and Brussels disagree over energy policy, industrial competitiveness and the pace of the global transition away from fossil fuels.
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Ambassador Dan Negria moderates a panel at the “Trade over Aid” forum at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York, joining Czech Environment Minister Igor Cerveny and other participants. (Donald Conahan/U.S. Mission to the United Nations)
“If you look at the market at the moment, the situation is very bad in most European countries,” he said. “We see many companies leaving our region and moving to China or elsewhere in the world.”
Without those companies, European governments would lose both tax revenues and jobs, he said.
Cervany argued that European governments should find a “win-win” approach that protects the environment without reducing industry and employment.
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Protesters hold signs during the Fridays for Future demonstration for a social and climate-friendly Europe in Berlin, Germany on May 31, 2024. (Christian Mang/Reuters)
“We have to be very careful about this and be very rational and try to find some solutions for both sides,” he said. “If you look at European countries from a high perspective, most of them only provided green ideology. And I think that’s a bad way.”
Cerveny said resistance to the current approach is spreading beyond the Czech Republic, citing Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Germany and some Scandinavian countries.
The Czech Republic has been one of several European governments pressing Brussels to ease parts of the green deal, including delaying the bloc’s new carbon market for buildings and road transport and demanding changes to emissions-trading rules that Prague argues are increasing energy costs and weakening industrial competitiveness.
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Trade union ‘Solidarnos’ and Polish farmers protest against the European Green Deal in Warsaw, Poland on May 10, 2024. (Kuba Stezycki/Reuters)
Cerveny’s warning contrasted with the position presented by European Commissioner for the Environment Jessica Rosewall during the ministerial segment of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York on 13 July. The annual forum, convened under the UN Economic and Social Council, brings together governments to review progress toward the organization’s global development goals.
Roswaal, speaking on behalf of the EU and its member states, said the bloc is committed to the 2030 Agenda, a UN framework adopted in 2015 that sets 17 goals by 2030 covering issues including poverty, health, clean energy, infrastructure and environmental protection. He warned that progress was being undermined by conflict, inequality and the “triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss”.
He called for accelerated climate action, greater investment in renewable energy and low-carbon technologies, and support for a broader green transition.
“The challenge is not a lack of ideas, but a lack of momentum,” he said. “So let’s speed up together.”
Jessica Roswaal, European Commissioner for the Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy. (Florence Low/Pool/Reuters)
In his exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Cervany also praised President Donald Trump for strengthening European politicians who favor a less regulatory approach.
He said, “I am happy that Mr. Donald Trump is president again, because it changed many things in European countries as well.” He said the United States gives small countries like the Czech Republic a stronger partner in the debate in Brussels.
Cervany said Europe does not need to abandon sustainability, but must pursue it gradually and in collaboration with industry.
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People take part in a protest as part of the ‘Fridays for Future’ movement’s global climate strike in Vienna, Austria on October 10, 2025. (Lisa Leutner/Reuters)
“We have to change course,” he said, “because we also don’t want to lose our benefits for our industry, our economy, society and the environment.”
