New European Commission green policy chief Maros Sefcovic has insisted the EU will not dilute its efforts to fight climate change. But Commission Executive Vice-President Sefcovic told reporters that the bloc must improve communication with industries worried about the cost of CO2-cutting policies.

The EU has faced pushback on green policies from some member countries and EU lawmaker groups in recent months. Poland is taking Brussels to court over climate policies Warsaw says would worsen social inequality, while centre-right EU lawmakers have campaigned to kill off a new EU law to protect nature.

Sefcovic, who began the role last week, told journalists: "We are not going to dilute our ambition." Speaking in Brussels, he added: "What I believe is that we need to improve our communication and to be able to come faster, earlier and be more precise in our reactions to some of the natural worries which are there in some sectors."

Sefcovic suggested the EU could act as an honest broker, arranging talks between companies generating clean power and industries that need to purchase increasing volumes of low-carbon energy. A similar effort could be made to connect steel and cement producers with companies that plan to produce low-carbon hydrogen, a fuel that heavy industries are betting on to cut CO2.

Brussels should also meet clean energy industries to discuss how to make it easier to access finance, said Sefcovic, who has run other EU schemes with industries to develop battery supply chains and jointly buy gas.

The U.S.'s massive clean energy subsidy push has stoked concerns that investors could be tempted away from Europe and highlighted some industries' complaints that, while the EU offers various clean tech subsidies, the process to access them is long and complex.

Sefcovic took over overall coordination of EU climate and environmental policies when his predecessor Frans Timmermans stepped down to run in Dutch elections.

The change of guard comes at the end of a European summer of record-breaking wildfires, deadly heatwaves and flooding - which Sefcovic called "ominous signals" about the consequences that will follow if countries fail to address climate change.

Subscribe to Storyboard: A weekly newsletter bringing you the best of CGTN every Friday