Activists hoped EU leaders would make a decisive move on climate change at the summit following large-scale protests.
A push by European Union countries for the world’s biggest economic bloc to become carbon-neutral by 2050 was dropped to a footnote at a summit in Brussels, drawing widespread anger from activists demanding immediate climate action.
The leaders of the bloc’s member states met on Thursday for secret deliberations in an attempt to reach a consensus on who should fill the EU’s top jobs.
In the final statement following the summit, which stretched on into the early hours of Friday, the non-binding footnote read: “For a large majority of Member States, climate neutrality must be achieved by 2050.”
Political leaders feel the pressure to talk big on climate
Now it's time to act big on climate
To avoid #ClimateBreakdown we need a #ClimateNeutralEU as quickly as possible#EUCO pic.twitter.com/iuWzg3a51S
— Greenpeace EU (@GreenpeaceEU) June 20, 2019
European Commission President Donald Tusk told reporters the “vast majority” of countries is committed to the plan, but reaching unanimity was “not possible today”.
“We have good reason to believe this may change as no country ruled out the possibility of a positive decision in the coming months,” Tusk said.
All 28 member states must back a plan for it to become an official target. The lack of decision exposed a rift between western and eastern member states on climate change.
According to French President Emmanuel Macron and several diplomats, 24 countries including the United Kingdom, France and Germany supported the initiative but were held back by Poland and three other countries that heavily depend on fossil-fuel economies.
Activists had hoped that EU leaders would make a decisive statement on climate change at the summit.
It follows high-profile demonstrations in Europe – including the Extinction Rebellion rallies in London and Fridays for Future strikes conceived by Swedish schoolgirl Greta Thunberg – to urge political leaders to act more decisively on climate change over the last year.
Green parties were the big winners in May’s European Parliament elections, riding a wave of public concern over climate change.
