Greta Thunberg: EU climate law is 'surrender'

Greta’s powerful speech

“When your children set off the fire alarm, you went outside, took a look and smelled the air. And you stated that yes, the house is actually burning. This was no false alarm. But then you went back inside, finished your dinner and watched your movie, and went to bed without even calling the fire department. I’m sorry but this makes no sense at all. When your house is on fire, you don't wait a few more years to start putting it out. And yet, this is what the Commission are proposing today. When the EU presents this climate law and net zero by 2050, you indirectly admit surrender, that you’re giving up. Giving up on the Paris Agreement, giving up on your promises and giving up on doing everything you possibly can to ensure a safe future for your own children. Because this law is based on an insufficient CO2 budget that, in reality, gives us much, much less than a 50% chance of limiting the global average temperature rise to below 1.5 degrees Celsius. And this is the uncomfortable truth that you cannot escape no matter how badly you want to or how hard you try. And the longer you keep running away from that truth, the bigger your betrayal towards your own children. The EU must lead the way. You have the moral obligation to do so, and you have a unique economical and political opportunity to become a real climate leader. 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. And we will not be satisfied with anything less than science-based pathway, which gives us the best possible chance to safeguard the future living conditions for humanity and life on Earth as we know it. Anything else is surrender. This climate law is surrender because nature doesn’t bargain, and you cannot make deals with physics. And we will not allow you to surrender on our future. Thank you.”

Brut.