Invited to address the European Parliament’s Environment Committee (ENVI), Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg strongly criticised the European Commission's ‘climate law’ on Wednesday 4 March, just as the draft regulation was officially presented by the Commission’s President Ursula von der Leyen and its Vice-President in charge of the European Green Deal, Frans Timmermans (see other news).
“This climate law is surrender because nature does not bargain and you cannot make deals with physics”, the young activist said in a room packed for the occasion.
In particular, the Swede criticised the fact that the regulation is not in line with the best scientific data currently available and only includes “distant goals” that “will mean nothing” if greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are not drastically reduced in the next few years.
“No policy, plan or deal will be nearly enough as long as you continue to ignore the CO2 budget that applies for today”, she said, calling for targets not just for 2030 or 2050, but especially for 2020 and every year thereafter.
Rather than relying on the uncertain development of negative-emission technologies, she called for changes in our behaviour and in society.
Greta Thunberg also appeared to criticise the law as nothing more than a greenwashing operation by the Commission, saying: “Such a law sends a strong signal that real sufficient action is taking place, when in fact it is not”.
More generally, she again criticised the lack of awareness and leadership of those in charge, while the world has “unprecedented wealth and financial assets”.
While castigating the European Union’s tendency to call itself a “climate leader” while continuing to fund fossil fuels, the young activist urged the EU to lead the way and become a “real climate leader”.
Mixed reactions from the political groups. At the end of her warmly applauded speech (a large part of the room even stood), the ENVI Committee’s political group coordinators took the floor one by one, some agreeing with her speech, others much less so.
Bas Eickhout (Greens/EFA), agreed, calling the ‘climate law’ “disappointing”. The Dutchman went on to demand that “the science be put back into perspective” and to move from words to deeds without further delay, raising the EU’s climate ambitions already this year.
Like Pascal Canfin (Renew Europe, France) (see EUROPE 12438/3), he expressed concern that the 2030 target would not be raised in time for COP26 in November and that the EU would not be able to show the way for other countries.
In the same vein, Jytte Guteland (S&D, Sweden), rapporteur on ‘climate law’, considered that it is not “in line with the science”. She further recommended setting more ambitious targets for today and for 2030.
Denouncing “a lot of hypocrisy in the room”, Silvia Modig (GUE/NGL, Finland), for her part, said that “what we need is the courage and political will to take the necessary actions”. Considering the ‘climate law’ insufficiently ambitious, she stressed that cutting emissions by 50% by 2030 is not enough. She went on to say: “This isn’t an opinion, it’s a fact”.
On the other hand, Silvia Sardone (ID, Italy) and Pietro Fiocchi (ECR, Italy) strongly criticised Greta Thunberg’s speech.
The former blamed young climate activists for making environmental speeches without being prepared to give up their smartphones or fast food. The latter, for his part, called not for revising the climate objectives, but for conserving those of the Paris agreement, while stressing the need to base these objectives on impact studies.
For his part, Peter Liese (EPP, Netherlands) said the ‘climate law’ is ambitious and called for more investment in research and innovation to decarbonise industry. In this respect, he pointed to the behaviour of those Member States that propose to reduce the budget for innovation in the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework.
Finally, according to Nils Torvalds (Renew Europe, Finland), by planning to raise the 2030 target for reducing GHG emissions from -40% to -50% or even -55%, the ‘climate law’ already represents a significant step forward.
See the ‘climate law’: http://bit.ly/38nocUn and the letter from the 34 young activists: http://bit.ly/2PP1zBM (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)