Greenpeace adjusted a slogan from the 2013 electorial campaign of the Prime Minister Andrej Babiš to say, “Protect the climate so our children can live here!” and projected the message on the Office of the Government. The activity took place three days before the European Council meeting, a key summit of EU leaders to approve the EU’s 2050 carbon neutrality plan. Currently, Prime Minister Babiš remains the last of the leaders of the EU member states that vocally opposes the plan which needs full consensus from the European Council and threatens to block it.
Lukáš Hrábek from Greenpeace says:
„In order to meet the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement and prevent warming by more than 1.5 ° C, which would have catastrophic consequences for future generations and the environment in which they live, carbon neutrality needs to be achieved as soon as possible. If Prime Minister Babiš blocks the agreement, he will officially admit that the Paris Climate Agreement is worth the price of toilet paper for the Czech Republic and he will flush away the hope of the young generation and our children to live in bearable climate conditions.“
Climate neutrality was discussed by EU leaders this June when Poland, Hungary and Estonia blocked it in addition to the Czech Republic. First was Estonia to reassessed their position and, according to internal information, Greenpeace anticipates that Poland and Hungary will also be able to agree to the European Commission’s proposal for carbon neutrality.
The approval of climate neutrality will have a significant impact not only on the Czech and European climate efforts but also globally. While the vast majority of the world’s nations have agreed to work to stop the planet’s warming, ideally below 1.5 ° C, their real policies and measures are directed to warming above 3 ° C, which would have disastrous consequences for humanity. Next year, states will present their new commitments to the UN, and unless the richest and most advanced countries, such as the EU,certainly increase their ambitions and lead by example, there is little chance that other countries in the world will do so in return.