BRUSSELS — The European Commission introduced on Wednesday its centerpiece climate strategy that, if approved, would pivot the world’s third-biggest polluter to climate-friendly economic policies and nudge coal-reliant nations with payouts worth billions of euros.

Known as the Green Deal, the plan would require many European Union member states to radically change how they operate their economies and find new livelihoods for millions of citizens, risking a continentwide backlash akin to the “Yellow Vest” protest movement that has riled France.

The strategy paper, feverishly prepared over the past few weeks by the European Commission, the bloc’s administrative branch, has been described as a top priority for the next five years and beyond.

“Our goal is to reconcile our economy with our planet, and make it work for our people,” said the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen. “The European Green Deal is as much about cutting emissions as it is about creating jobs.”