European Parliament declares Climate Emergency

Brussels, 28 November 2019- The European Parliament (EP) declared climate emergency in a plenary vote today. In this decision, the goals proposed by the European Greens to reduce the emission of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) by 65% by 2030 and to achieve carbon neutrality in 2040 were rejected. 

Despite the declaration of a climate emergency, efforts to reduce GHG emissions in Europe are insufficient to comply with the Paris agreement and are not in line with the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which indicates that GHG emissions , in this territory, are not decreasing at the pace required by the scientific community. 

“More than resolutions, citizens want climate action and today Parliament has only done halfway in that direction,” says PAN MEP Francisco Guerreiro. “We fell short of the goals needed to combat and mitigate the impact of climate change, but the Greens achieved important victories,” he comments. 

In this plenary session there was a vote on a resolution regarding the EP's commitment to the objectives of the European Union (EU) at COP25, which will take place from the 2 to the 13 December 2019, in Madrid.

PAN voted against the final text of the resolution because it included an amendment by the liberals, voted favourably by the Conservatives (ECR), the extreme right (ID) and the vast majority of the EPP, advocating the expansion of the nuclear-industrial complex in Europe as a method of replacing fossil fuels to fight climate change. The final vote gathered 328 votes in favour, 285 against and 45 abstentions. 

The Greens saw several amendments approved, namely that the international trade agreements do not prejudice the preservation of biodiversity, that there will be an end to the tax exemption for products containing kerosene, but also with marine fuels, and the guarantee that the European Investment Bank (EIB) will only approve projects in line with the objectives of the Paris Agreement. 

“The European Parliament, by virtue of the liberals and conservatives, shot itself in the foot by validating the expansion of the nuclear industry in Europe, not standing behind 100% clean and renewable energies,” says Francisco Guerreiro.

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