Invited to address the European Parliament's Environment Committee, young Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg gave a speech on Tuesday 16 April in Strasbourg, an aggressive speech as usual, calling on European policy makers to act now for the climate.
Wildly applauded on many occasions by MEPs on all sides, her speech hit the nail on the head, even though the sensitivities of the various political groups were apparent and the sincerity of the general enthusiasm aroused sarcasm, particularly among the Greens with regard to the right (EPP, ECR), which had refused to allow Greta Thunberg to speak in plenary session out of respect for Parliament’s rules (see EUROPE 12235/9).
Just before her speech, she was received by the institution's president, Antonio Tajani, and was able to "speak on behalf of the young people who share the same concerns as me, concerns about the climate crisis and ecological breakdown”, she told the press
“Deforestation, air pollution, loss of wildlife, insects, ocean acidification: these disastrous trends are accelerated by our lifestyles. No one understands that these are symptoms of what is happening with the climate. Our house is falling apart. Political leaders must take immediate action", the young Swede said, imploring MPs to act on behalf of the concerns of the millions of children who are on school strike to have a right to a future. “For the European elections, we do not yet have the right to vote, but you must listen to us”.
The president of the Parliamentary committee, Romanian Adina-Ioana Vălean (EPP), thanked her for her unwavering commitment and assured her that "the climate will be one of the most important topics in the upcoming European elections”.
Describing the speech as "inspiring", German Peter Liese (EPP) said, however, that in the long term, "this fight must be fought outside the school context”. And while acknowledging that "climate change is the major challenge for our generation", he noted the reluctance of some Member States. "Of course, the Member States are not doing enough, but without Europe, there would be no Paris Agreement", he said.
Miriam Dalli (S&D) of Malta said she felt the same fears as Greta. "Many share your analysis, but when it comes to legislation, ambition is diluted under pressure from lobbyists. We see many politicians communicating, but actions do not follow”, she said.
For the Belgian Mark Demesmaeker (ECR), "it is not only a question of protecting the planet, but also employment”; it is a question of betting on the ecological transition to reinvent the economy by giving technology, research and innovation a chance. "But the EU cannot do everything; we need allies”, he added.
"In July, when we vote on the next President of the Commission, I hope we will remember the day we applauded Greta, and we will see if the next Commission intends to change course to end the use of fossil fuels”, said the Greens/EFA leader for the European elections, Bas Eickhout of the Netherlands, who will advocate reducing EU CO2 emissions by 60% by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
On the same day, his group published the list of the ten priority measures it will defend, including: - stopping subsidies for fossil fuels; - ensuring that all future EU investments are sustainable and climate-resilient; - setting a fair price for carbon (which they believe would generate €28 billion per year); - ensuring tax justice; - supporting a fair transition; - ensuring sustainable mobility (taxing kerosene, fewer planes, more trains).
"Not one euro from the budget or the EIB should exhaust our resources even further", the Belgian Philippe Lamberts told the press. "The solutions are on the table; some of them have been proposed for years", added the German Ska Keller.
Lynn Boylan (GUE/NGL) of Ireland expressed the same level of urgency, delighted that Greta Thunberg "cited Ireland, which is ready to walk away from fossil fuels, but which gives licences for the exploitation of liquid gas. We need an urgent policy response, measures to meet 1.5° of global warming and a carbon-neutral economy well before 2050”.
Some have boycotted Greta Thunberg: “On the initiative of the Greens/NGL group, the new environmental muse is being heard (...) For my part, I refuse to participate in this crude communications operation. Of course, we must be resolute in our commitment to addressing the climate emergency. This Parliament has also called for a carbon-neutral Europe by 2050 (see EUROPE 12214/13). But I firmly reject Greta Thunberg's declinist, catastrophist, anti-growth and anti-nuclear discourse", said Françoise Grossetête (EPP) of France. (Aminata Niang with Camille-Cerise Gessant and Damien Genicot)