Amid fierce criticism from environmental activists, the European Commission unveiled plans Wednesday for its first ever climate law, which will act as the basis of the European Union's aim to make the 27-country bloc climate neutral by 2050.
Under its Green Deal agenda, the EU's executive arm wants to legislate to make its ambition of cutting greenhouse gas emissions to zero by mid-century irreversible, and legally-binding for all member states.
This climate law will set in stone Europe's position as a climate leader on the global stage," said European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.
To establish the 2050 goal, the European Commission is proposing a mechanism for regularly raising the EU's emissions reduction target over the next three decades. However, there is no plan to increase the bloc's overall emissions goal for 2030. This particular point has been criticized by climate activists, who claim that delaying the upgraded 2030 target is detrimental to the bloc's credibility in the fight against climate change.
The commission only said it would present a responsible plan by September on how to raise its current 2030 target of reducing greenhouse gases by 40% from 1990 levels to at least 50% and towards 55% ."
Average temperatures were especially high over large parts of northeastern Europe, in some areas more than 6 C above the 1981-2010 January average."