Speeches

Climate change is intensifying and the impacts of climate change are worsening each year. Climate change poses also an economic crisis. The cost of inaction is as high as 10 times the cost of necessary climate adaptation. The European Parliament approved a resolution declaring a climate and environmental emergency in Europe and globally in November 2019 – and rightfully so. Parliament urged the Commission to ensure that all relevant legislative and budgetary proposals are fully aligned with the Paris Agreement by limiting global warming to under 1.5 °C. Despite this, we are still debating political compromises on climate targets while ignoring clear signals from scientists to reach domestic net-zero emissions far before 2050. While I welcome the Commission’s proposal on the 2040 climate target, we are still falling short in aligning it with the 1.5 °C temperature limit. The EU should reach its gross emissions reductions domestically without the inclusion of international carbon credits that severely delay the process and undermine the EU contribution. In addition, we should not rely on carbon removals such as CCS, as we should focus on gross emissions reduction to avoid sidetracks and delays in climate action.