LJUBLJANA/BRUSSELS, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) needs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by four percent per year over the next eight years in order to achieve climate neutrality, European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic said in Brussels on Wednesday.

"This is a huge task in itself, and it can't be achieved without a huge transformation of our industries," Sefcovic, who is in charge of interinstitutional relations and foresight, told a news conference after a meeting of the EU member states' ministers responsible for industry and the internal market.

At the Competitiveness Council meeting, the ministers emphasized the need to improve the regulatory framework to increase the EU's competitiveness, the Slovenian EU Presidency said on its website.

"Our task is to ensure that industry and the economy make the most of the opportunities provided by the transition to climate neutrality," the Presidency said.

The ministers highlighted that the transition to climate neutrality will have to take into account the national specifics and that affordable decarbonized electricity is a prerequisite for the success of the green transition.

The Presidency said that one of the biggest challenges ahead is the revision of the Emissions Trading System (ETS) so as to ensure a fair burden-sharing mechanism. The ETS was set up in 2005 to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Enditem

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