STRASBOURG, FRANCE, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Ursula von der Leyen, the German candidate for president of the European Commission, said on Tuesday that she would put forward a green deal in her first 100 days in office and put carbon neutrality into a first-ever European climate law.

"I want Europe to become the first climate-neutral continent in the world by 2050. To make this happen, we must take bold steps together," she said in the European Parliament, where members are due to vote on her nomination to head the European Union's (EU) executive later in the day.

"Our current goal of reducing our emissions by 40 percent by 2030 is not enough," said von der Leyen. "We must go further. We must strive for more."

Von der Leyen also mentioned that the technology giants that are making huge profits in Europe must pay taxes.

Earlier July, von der Leyen, current German defense minister, was nominated by the leaders of the EU member states to replace the current President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker.