EU aiming for zero emissions by 2050

Draft climate law unveiled amid criticism from activist Thunberg

The European Commission unveiled a draft climate law on Wednesday to achieve its ambitious Green Deal that will make the bloc the world's first carbon neutral continent by 2050, but climate and environmental activists have decried the law as "insufficient" and "surrender".

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen rolled out the landmark Green Deal on Dec 11, just 11 days after taking office. On Wednesday she called the climate law as "the heart" of the deal.

"The Climate Law is the legal translation of our political commitment, and sets us irreversibly on the path to a more sustained future," she said."It offers predictability and transparency for European industry and investors. And it gives direction to our green growth strategy and guarantees that the transition will be gradual and fair."

The climate law proposes a legally binding target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The EU institutions and its member states are collectively bound to take the necessary measures at EU and national level to meet the target. It also includes measures to keep track of progress and adjust actions.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg met von der Leyen in Brussels on Wednesday morning. In her speech to the European Parliament environment committee later, she criticized the draft climate law.

She said the Green Deal package of measures gives the world "much less than a 50-percent chance" to limit global warming to 1.5 C.

"You, yourselves, declared that we are in a climate and environment emergency. You said this was an existential threat. Now you must prove that you mean it," the 17-year-old told MEPs.

"It is vital to follow 'science-based pathway'. Anything else is surrender," said Thunberg, who also addressed a meeting of European Council environment ministers on Thursday morning.

Thunberg and 33 other young activists wrote an open letter to EU leaders, stating "we will not allow you to surrender on our future" and "until you take this seriously, we will remain here in the streets", referring to the school climate strike movement that has swept European cities in the last 18 months.

'More than anywhere else'

Peter Liese, a German MEP with the European People's Party, rejected Thunberg's criticism.

"I disagree with you because I think this new law is ambitious and shows that we in Europe are doing more than anywhere else in tackling the climate emergency," he said.

Swedish MEP Jytte Guteland, a member of Socialists& Democrats, agreed that EU needs to be more ambitious, but she said that the there are strong conservative forces in the parliament."There was a big divide in this house," she said.

Greenpeace EU Climate Policy Adviser Sebastian Mang expressed dissatisfaction with the climate law. "With no plans for a science-based 2030 target, nor measures to end fossil fuel subsidies, we're setting ourselves up for failure," he said in a statement. "Decades of dithering and half measures have led us to a point where the very survival of life on earth is at risk from climate breakdown. The time to act is now, not in 10 years."

European Commission Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans said that the commission will have a target for 2030. "From 2021, we will monitor our progress every five years and if we find we are off track we will adjust the trajectory," he said on Wednesday.

The climate law needs to be approved by the European Parliament, the European Council and member states before entering force.

The European elections last May witnessed an overwhelming public call for climate and environment actions. A Eurobarometer survey released on Tuesday shows that protecting the environment and climate is important for over 90 percent of European citizens.