1.5°C is the limit! Activists urge EU ministers to raise climate target without accounting tricks
Greenpeace protesters call for climate action based on science at meeting of EU environment ministers
“Inadequate and irresponsible”: analysis of EU Commission’s 2030 climate plan
Greenpeace Germany press release
Berlin – Ten Greenpeace activists greeted EU environment ministers arriving for a meeting in Berlin with a four-metre high image of a burning planet and the words: “1.5°C is the limit!” The protesters called on ministers to take climate science seriously and back a 65% cut in EU greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
The ministers are meeting to discuss a new EU emission reduction target for 2030. The European Commission has recommended a 55% reduction in EU emissions, based on 1990 levels, but this target falls far short of the cuts required to keep global heating to 1.5°C and avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis. The Commission’s target is also artificially inflated by including emissions absorbed by carbon sinks like forests and soil, which would postpone or even replace necessary emission cuts in the most polluting sectors, like energy, transport and farming, warned Greenpeace.
Next week, the European Parliament will vote on a recommendation by its environment committee to support a 60% cut in EU emissions by 2030, without including carbon sinks.
Greenpeace EU climate policy adviser Sebastian Mang said: “The science is clear – governments and polluting corporations either cut emissions in line with science to avoid the most devastating impacts of climate breakdown, or they do less than science requires, unlocking a spiralling climate crisis. Environment ministers must reject the Commission’s attempts to con the public by relying on already vulnerable forests to achieve a half-baked target, instead of cutting emissions from the most polluting sectors.”
Greenpeace Germany climate expert Lisa Göldner said: “It is the responsibility of the German EU presidency to broker a deal on an EU climate target for 2030 based on the best available science. This means Germany’s environment minister, Svenja Schulze, needs to rule out accounting tricks and stop fudging the science. An EU climate target that does not meet the urgency of the climate crisis would be an insult to the hundreds of thousands of climate strikers protesting across Europe and everyone fighting for the protection of our planet and a safe future for this and future generations.”
Environmental NGOs have assessed the Commission’s climate plans and made suggestions on how to bring EU action in line with the Paris climate agreement.
Today’s protest in Berlin is part of the Climate Care Uprising, a Europe-wide wave of climate demonstrations taking place between 23 September and 15 October. Activists will take action in 24 countries to call on governments and the European Union to help people recover from the devastating effects of Covid-19 and the escalating climate crisis.
Contacts:
Lisa Göldner – Greenpeace Germany climate expert: +49 151 11633674, lisa.goeldner@greenpeace.org (in Berlin)
Sebastian Mang – Greenpeace EU climate policy adviser: +32 479 601289, sebastian.mang@greenpeace.org (in Brussels)
Tina Loeffelbein – Greenpeace Germany media coordinator: +49 151 1672 0915, tina.loeffelbein@greenpeace.org (in Berlin)
Greenpeace EU press desk: +32 (0)2 274 1911, pressdesk.eu@greenpeace.org
For breaking news and comment on EU affairs: www.twitter.com/GreenpeaceEU