Greta Thunberg slams EU's new proposed climate law, says it's an admission of 'giving up'

Teenage climate change activist Greta Thunberg on Wednesday slammed the European Union over its new plan to tackle climate change. Thunberg while speaking in Brussels said that the European Union is just pretending to be the leader in climate change although it is not doing anything to really fight the crisis. The European Union on March 4 unveiled a proposed law that would make it legal for European countries to be carbon neutral by 2050. 

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As per reports, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hailed the new proposed law as the "heart of the European Green Deal". But, Greta Thunberg who didn't seem much impressed by the new law took a jibe at the bloc as she used an analogy to describe her position. Thunberg while speaking at the European Parliament's environment committee said that it is like trying to put out the fire that engulfed your house a few years ago. According to reports, she also said that it was an admission that the EU was 'giving up' on the Paris agreement. 

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The Paris Agreement

The Paris Agreement that came into effect in November 2016, is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that requires signatories to keep the increase in global temperature to well below 2-degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels. As per reports, currently, 197 countries part of the UNFCCC have become a party to it, except for Iran and Turkey. 

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In June 2017, United States President Donald Trump announced his intention to withdraw from the agreement, which was signed by the Obama administration in April 2016. On November 4, 2019, the Trump administration gave a formal notice of intention to withdraw, which takes 12 months to take effect. So, the earliest possible effective withdrawal date by the United States will be after November 4, 2020.

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Image Credit: AP