The echoes from the week on the climate held in Madrid from 2 to 13 December are fading partly as a result of the festive break. As far as words go, at these times we all feel profoundly “more virtuous”. We make New Year’s resolutions to be more generous, healthier, to work for peace. At this time of general goodwill, it is pleasing to recall that the European Parliament has declared a climate and environmental emergency (Resolution of 28 November 2019 (2019/2930(RSP), a symbolic vote intended to keep up the pressure on EU leaders in the light of COP25 and the installation of the executive of the new European Commission. In addition, and in parallel, on 29 November the European Parliament approved the resolution titled: “UN Climate Change Conference COP25 in Madrid, Spain (COP 25)” (P9_TA(2019)0079).
The document is 25 pages long and reading it was a cheering experience. We reproduce below what it says on the soil, but we invite all to read it in full (it is available in all the EU languages) and we hope it will be picked up in the EC’s Green New Deal for Europe:
Stresses that the IPCC special report on climate change and land underlines the particularly dramatic effects of global warming on land; expresses concern that human-induced land degradation, due mostly to unsustainable agricultural practices, and increasing land-use disturbances such as forest fires are further diminishing the capacity of land to act as a carbon sink; underlines that these dramatic consequences are expected to get worse if the prevailing global trends continue;
We accept this as a good omen and resolution for 2020!
Link to the report (in English only) of the EP’s research office.
Gruppo Suolo Europa 