“What we can’t change is the fact that human beings are dying”. On Monday 12 June, the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Margrethe Vestager, spoke to MEPs at a plenary session in Strasbourg in favour of creating a European day to commemorate the victims of climate change, to be set aside for 15 July.
Supporting the proposal put forward by Frans Timmermans one year after the floods in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands (see EUROPE 12993/31), Ms Vestager stressed the urgency of the situation and the devastating impact that climate change was already having on our society, despite all political action.
In this respect, the Vice-President of the Commission admitted that, even if we reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement, climate conditions will become increasingly worrying. “Bad news is coming down the line”, she said. She therefore reiterated the need to be better prepared, by protecting “citizens, the environment and the economy”. Ms Vestager also said that the most vulnerable people, “those with few resources”, were the hardest hit by these extreme events.
This day would serve as a warning about the reality of climate change and encourage people to be better prepared for its devastating consequences. Ms Vestager also stressed the human dimension of the climate crisis, which “concerns us all” and therefore requires collective action.
While this appeal met with a favourable response from MEPs, some, like Mohammed Chahim (S&D, Dutch), who expressed his support for the proposal, pointed out that it was essential to think about the victims of the climate crisis on a daily basis and “to act more quickly” and with “more ambition”.
Similarly, according to Greek MEP Petros Kokkalis (The Left), this day should serve as a catalyst for reviewing and improving European policies. Emma Wiesner (Renew Europe, Swedish) encouraged the EU to take the lead in the fight against climate change in order to avoid “forced displacement” and to create a greener continent. Finally, ahead of the vote on nature restoration (see EUROPE 13198/10), Bas Eickhout (Greens/EFA, Dutch) stressed that “the fight to preserve nature (went) hand in hand with the fight against climate change”, saying that resilient ecosystems would help to improve the climate situation.
For the Commission, this appeal was reiterated on Tuesday 13 June by Vice-President Frans Timmermans at the opening of the second Forum of the Mission adaptation to climate change, held in Blekinge (Sweden): “It will be a day to contemplate those who are no longer here, and look at what we can learn from these tragic events. We are working to get the designation done as soon as possible”. On Thursday 15 June, MEPs will be asked to vote on a motion to recommend the creation of this day. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)