Two days before the informal European summit in Sibiu on the Future of Europe and ahead of the European elections, a broad coalition of hundreds of NGOs, local authorities (cities and regions), trade unions, businesses and European citizens issued an urgent appeal on Tuesday 7 May, urging the Twenty-Seven leaders to take decisive action to respond to the climate emergency.
To this end, the signatories of this “Climate Action Call” demand that current and future EU leaders respond to public mobilisation by publicly committing to making climate action a priority for Europe, during the Future of Europe and in election debates.
Signatories include CAN Europe, CIDSE, Green Student Movement Denmark, C40, Energy Cities, Climate Alliance, Act Alliance EU, FERN, FIMCAP (International Federation of Catholic Parochial Youth Movements), Fedarene, CPMR, Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, Corporate Leaders Group, Climate Leadership Council and Youth for Climate.
They call on European leaders to make major changes to the way European societies and economies are managed in order to limit the average temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius - the most ambitious objective of the Paris Climate Agreement.
Five specific steps. The signatories of the Climate Action Call set out five specific steps for the European Parliament, the European Commission and European Heads of State, urging them to: - commit to accelerate actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and reach zero net emissions as soon as possible; - plan the end of the use of fossil fuels and provide strong support to energy efficiency, renewable energy and emission cuts outside the energy sector; - safeguard a just and fair transition and ensure that the EU increases its support to developing countries to mitigate and adapt to climate change (GHG emission reduction), - increase efforts to roll out the circular economy and increase resource efficiency, - recognise biodiversity protection and ecosystem restoration as a crucial component of climate action. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)