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Brussels<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 The European Parliament has endorsed the European Commission\u2019s plan to reduce the EU\u2019s net greenhouse gas emissions and called for EU emissions to fall to zero as soon as possible, but by 2050 at the latest. MEPs also backed an increase of the EU\u2019s 2030 greenhouse gas reduction target from 40% to 55% (compared to 1990 levels).<\/p>\n
Greenpeace EU climate policy adviser Sebastian Mang<\/b> said: \u201c<\/i>Now only national governments stand in the way of the EU increasing climate action. Protests across Europe show that people want politicians to tackle climate change. The EU Parliament gets the message. With European and national elections around the corner, governments would be foolish to ignore the groundswell.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to take to the streets on 15 March<\/a> to call for political action on climate change, with protests planned in every EU country and around the world. This global mobilisation has emerged out of hundreds of marches and grassroots climate strikes<\/a> by schoolchildren and students.<\/p>\n In November 2018, the European Commission tabled a decarbonisation plan that would require the European Union to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Greenpeace has called for full EU decarbonisation by 2040 to avoid climate breakdown<\/a> and comply with the UN\u2019s Paris climate agreement.<\/p>\n Several governments, including Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Luxembourg, France and the Netherlands, want the EU to bring its climate action in line with the UN\u2019s Paris climate agreement. Other EU countries, like Germany, Poland, Romania, Czech Republic and Bulgaria, oppose an immediate revision of greenhouse gas reduction targets that would limit global temperature rises to 1.5\u00b0C above pre-industrial levels and avoid total climate breakdown.<\/p>\n The EU decarbonisation plan will also be on the agenda when European heads of government meet in Brussels on 21-22 March.<\/p>\n Contacts:<\/b><\/p>\n Sebastian Mang \u2013 Greenpeace EU climate policy adviser<\/b>: +32 (0)479 601289, sebastian.mang@greenpeace.org<\/p>\n Greenpeace EU press desk<\/b>: +32 2 274 1911, pressdesk.eu@greenpeace.org<\/p>\n