As the climate crisis is intensifying, there is a need for climate consideration – new laws and policies to tackle it – the new European Citizens’ initiative “Call to action” might help further this agenda.
Written by Lea Gormsen // 14.11.2021
Climate change
By now, climate change is on everyone’s mind, regardless of your stand towards it. It is in the media, it is in the way the seasons change, the temperature of the water you swim in and the air you breathe. We cannot escape climate change and the policy makers are starting to consider climate change. But is it going fast enough?
A new European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) was started on the 21st of October 2021 called “Call to action – Environmental Protection in all policies”. As is mentioned in the name, this initiative demands the Commission to propose a law that assures that the authorities of the European member states take environmental protection into consideration when proposing a new or assessing existing policies. This law will assure every citizen in the EU that their governments are acting on the climate crisis whether it is their political belief or not.
Climate consideration of the public
A lot of new politics focusing on sustainability and the environmental crisis has been developed in the last couple of years, but it is not nearly enough. The politicians need to take more radical steps. By now most of the EU’s citizens believe that climate change is a threat. In a 2021 survey 93% of the European Citizens answered that they believe climate change to be a serious problem, and 78% of them answered they believed it to be a very serious problem[1]. Also, 96% of the survey attendants answered they had done at least one specific action to help fight climate change. Finally, 87% think the EU should set ambitious targets to increase renewable energy and support energy efficiency, and they also agree that tackling climate change should be a priority to improve public health[2].
This shows that the politicians have the public’s support in the matter of tackling climate change, and now it is their time to act. We are only waiting for them to start the sustainable transition!
The burden
In the annex that the organizers of the initiative sent to the Commission, they wrote: “The greatest burden of past mistakes should not be borne by our children and their descendants, as they are simply not to blame for them. The Commission, as the guardian of the environment for all Europeans must actively encourage and ensure that environmental considerations do not take the backseat when other policies are being implemented or amended. Environmental protection must become the core of all policymaking” [3]
How can you help this initiative?
- Sign the initiative – when it goes live
- Share the initiative on your social media, with your friends and family
- Keep yourself updated on the initiative and when you can sign it on Our Only Home’s website or on the European Citizens’ Initiative website
References:
https://europa.eu/citizens-initiative/initiatives/details/2021/000010_en
https://ec.europa.eu/clima/citizens/citizen-support-climate-action_en
Footnotes:
https://ec.europa.eu/clima/citizens/citizen-support-climate-action_en ↑
https://ec.europa.eu/clima/citizens/citizen-support-climate-action_en ↑
https://europa.eu/citizens-initiative/initiatives/details/2021/000010_en ↑
