Parliament calls for an annual ‘European day for the victims of the global climate crises’ to be established to remember the human lives lost due to climate change.
In the resolution, adopted with 395 votes to 109 and 31 abstentions on Thursday, Parliament proposes to hold this day annually -starting this year on 15 July 2023- and invites the Council and the Commission to back the initiative.
MEPs say it is appropriate to commemorate the victims of the climate crises and highlight that it would help to raise awareness of the human lives lost and humanitarian crisis caused by climate change.
They point out that climate change is leading to more unpredictable weather phenomena, including more frequent and intense heatwaves, wildfires and floods, to threats to food, water safety and security, and to the emergence and spread of infectious diseases, which are intensifying and taking an ever-greater human toll both globally and in Europe.
Background
Parliament has adopted the European Climate Law, which obliges the EU by law to become climate neutral by 2050 and to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% in 2030. Parliament has also recently adopted key laws as part of the ‘Fit for 55’-package in order to reach that target. On 29 November 2019, Parliament declared a climate and environmental emergency in Europe and globally.
