Greta Thunberg has argued that the new law the EU is looking to put in place is a form of ‘surrender’ to climate change.
On Wednesday, March 4, the EU discussed plans to reduce carbon emissions towards becoming carbon neutral.
If the deal named the ‘Green Deal’ is passed, it would make it an official law for the EU to be carbon neutral by 2050.
However, Greta deemed this not good enough, arguing the point that if your house was on fire now, you wouldn’t wait a few more years to put it out – and she’s not wrong.
The 17-year-old who spoke at the meeting in Brussels even went as far as saying the EU was ‘pretending’ to be the leader on climate change, BBC News reports.
Speaking in front of EU officials, the teenager said:
You yourselves said that we are in a climate, environment emergency. You said this was an existential threat. Now you must prove that you mean it.
We will not be satisfied with anything less than a science-based pathway which gives us the bet possible chance to save our future living conditions for humanity, and life on earth as we know it.
You can watch her full speech here:
The Swedish activist also added how she felt the Paris Agreement, which was agreed in October 2016, had been given up on.
The document for the Paris Agreement reads:
This Agreement shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the date on which at least 55 Parties to the Convention accounting in total for at least an estimated 55 per cent of the total global greenhouse gas emissions have deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession.
The new deal, be it 30 years long, consists of: investing in environmentally-friendly technologies, supporting industry to innovate, rolling out cleaner, cheaper and healthier forms of private and public transport, decarbonising the energy sector, ensuring buildings are more energy efficient and working with international partners to improve global environmental standards.
The EU will also provide financial support and technical assistance to help people, businesses and regions that are most affected by the move towards the green economy.
In regards to the Green Deal the EU is looking to put in place, Greta said: ‘This climate law is surrender. Nature doesn’t bargain, and you cannot make deals with physics.’
Like or dislike her, she definitely has some valid points.
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Niamh Shackleton is a pint sized person and journalist at UNILAD. After studying Multimedia Journalism at the University of Salford, she did a year at Caters News Agency as a features writer in Birmingham before deciding that Manchester is (arguably) one of the best places in the world, and therefore moved back up north. She’s also UNILAD’s unofficial crazy animal lady.