EP vote on COP21 - The EU cannot afford to fail a second time

EP vote on COP21 - The EU cannot afford to fail a second time

This Wednesday during a mini plenary, the European Parliament is to debate and vote on a report on the international climate agreement that is to be sealed in Paris at the COP21 in December.

The mood has changed since the last key summit that took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, 6 years ago. Climate-sceptics are less vocal and the public has noticed by itself that the climate has changed very fast these last couple of years. Moreover, more  and more actors, whether from different religious communities, researchers, doctors, trade unions to name but a few have called for more effort to reduce our carbon emissions.

Many citizens have also decided to roll up their sleeves themselves to launch and push for the transition to a green economy that is now inevitable if we are to remain within safe boundaries when it comes to global warming. In every corner of the world, great ideas are mushrooming which prove that solutions do exist. Politicians must now play their part and accelerate this transition so that all fossil fuels ���� the main cause of climate change ���� are abandoned, that our economies are 100% based on renewable energy sources and that all natural resources are protected.

Since 2009, people have realised that postponing the problem is not possible anymore. They realise the importance of protecting their jobs, their environment, their natural resources but also all the things we love in life, such as wine, chocolate, beer and coffee for example ���� all of these will clearly be affected if we continue with the status quo.

The Greens/EFA group wants the EU to show real leadership to ensure that the deal will limit global warming well below 2°C and that appropriate financial support will be given to the most vulnerable countries so that the Green Climate Fund can actually deliver. This point will be absolutely crucial to ensure the success of the deal as well as its implementation.

The group also reminds EU leaders that the EU is capable of far more effort when it comes to reducing its own emissions than it is doing right now, for example by cancelling its surplus pollution permits for good. Such a decision would ensure that the EU carbon market actually delivers and enable a much faster transition to a green economy.

Indeed, according to Climate Action Tracker, the current proposals from the different parties (known as ����INDCs����) that are on the table are not ambitious enough: the world is now on a trajectory  between 2.7 and 3.5°C����and even this trajectory is only provided that efforts are properly monitored and decision in Paris seriously enforced!

The EU has the responsibility to push for a virtuous circle to take place and for things to move on; it cannot afford to miss the boat on another key event taking place within its borders or for the name of one of its key capitals to be remembered as another failure����/span>

 

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Find the Greens demands for the COP21 as well as the Greens/EFA demands on the EU for 2030.