Our house is on fire. All over the planet, temperatures are rising and climate anomalies are found with worrying regularity. Europe is no exception, with more and more extreme weather events. EU legislation to halt climate change is advancing, but much more needs to be done, and fast.
The year 2022 saw record-breaking temperatures in Europe and across the world. Fires ravaged across Southern and Western Europe and droughts put a strain on agriculture across the whole continent, while only the year before, communities in many parts of Europe suffered devastating floods.
While not every unusual weather incident can be directly attributed to climate change, with a warmer climate, extreme weather patterns become more frequent leading to more frequent heat waves, intense precipitation, and droughts. And with every new year, new temperature records are broken.
Extreme weather events have immense consequences on all aspects of our society: agriculture, health, transport, equality, security and cultural identity.
In this context, the fight against climate change is one of the most important challenges we face today. The consequences of climate change are seen all around the world, however many of the countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change are those least responsible for it.
The EEB believes that the EU has a historical responsibility to act. The EU also has the capacity to act. We must take the lead in helping to combat this global crisis and commit to a 2030 target of reducing EU emissions by 65% compared to 1990.
The EEB works closely with Climate Action Network Europe and other partners to ensure that the EU fully complies with its obligations under the Paris climate agreement, in particular by outlining a Paris Agreement Compatible scenario that suggests a path to sourcing 100% of EU’s energy needs with renewable energy.
The EEB also works on non-energy related climate issues such as the impact of refrigerants used in refrigeration, heating and cooling: we advocate for a phase-out of climate-unfriendly fluorinated refrigerants and for the adoption of more climate-friendly alternatives such as CO2 and hydrocarbons.
Together with civil society organisations, the EEB is monitoring the climate impacts of EU funds and fiscal policies. Learn more about our work on EU funds at our EUKI project webpage.
Through the #ClimateOfChange campaign, the EEB also aims to develop young EU citizens awareness and critical understanding of climate change induced migration, as one of the biggest challenges of the globalized world.
We are now focusing on ensuring that EU policymakers turn the historic EU Green Deal into reality while fighting for a robust climate policy framework that can deliver the level of climate action needed for the years ahead.
