Greta Thunberg tells EU to stop 'pretending' on climate

Yahoo – AFP, March 4, 2020

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg said that despite "disregarding" science, the EU
was hoping its climate plan "will somehow solve the biggest crisis humanity has
ever faced" (AFP Photo/KENZO TRIBOUILLARD)

Brussels (AFP) - Teenage eco-warrior Greta Thunberg branded the EU's grand plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 inadequate on Wednesday and said Europe is falsely claiming to lead the world on climate.

The European Union must stop "pretending that you can be a climate leader and still go on building and subsidising new fossil fuel infrastructure," the Swedish activist told a committee hearing at the European Parliament.

Thunberg was addressing MEPs as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a new draft law that Brussels has hailed as the cornerstone of Europe's "Green Deal" to fight climate change.

The 17-year-old said that despite "disregarding" science, the EU was hoping its plan "will somehow solve the biggest crisis humanity has ever faced".

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (C) announced a new draft law 

that Brussels has hailed as the cornerstone of Europe's "Green Deal" to fight 

climate change (AFP Photo/JOHN THYS)

"This must come to an end," she said.

Earlier, Thunberg had been a guest at a meeting of top EU officials that approved a proposal to enshrine into law the EU's ambition of net zero carbon emissions by mid-century.

This would bind the EU's 27 member states to balance polluting emissions and the removal of greenhouse gases -- such as by using carbon capture technology or reforestation -- within the next 30 years.

The law, once ratified, would also give the EU executive new powers to impose emission targets on member state governments.

"When your house is on fire, you don't wait a few more years to start putting it out," said Thunberg.

"When the EU presents this climate law and net zero by 2050 you indirectly admit surrender, that you are giving up," she said.

Coalition 'gambles' on making Austria carbon neutral by 2040

Yahoo – AFP, Julia ZAPPEI, January 2, 2020

People's Party (OeVP) leader Sebastian Kurz says his two-party coalition will
'protect the climate and borders' (AFP Photo/ALEX HALADA)

Vienna (AFP) - Austria's first coalition between conservatives and Greens announced Thursday that it would aim for carbon neutrality by 2040 to make the country a European "forerunner" in climate protection.

The two disparate parties have agreed to govern in what Greens leader Werner Kohler called a "gamble" after key election gains in September.

Their alliance means People's Party (Oe Vp) leader Sebastian Kur, 33, returns as chancellor after his previous coalition with the far-right broke apart earlier this year owing to a corruption scandal.

It marks the first time the Greens enter government on a national level though the Oe Vp holds on to controversial anti-immigration measures that have deeply divided Austrians.

"It's worth the gamble" to work with the conservatives, Kohler told reporters when presenting the government programme.

The carbon neutrality goal -- meaning greenhouse gas emissions are balanced with measures that absorb or eliminate carbon -- is ahead of Europe's 2050 ambition.

But the 300-page government programme also highlights security needs, the conservatives' main campaign platform.

"Migration will stay at the heart of my politics," said Kur, who has styled himself as a tough anti-immigration fighter, reiterating his view that the coalition's parties had "succeeded in uniting the best of both worlds".

'Daring experiment'

European Council President Charles Michel said 2020 began with "great news from Austria."

He tweeted: "25 years after its accession, Austria renews its commitment to the European project and is set to become a leader in the fight against climate change."

Observers say Germany and other nations could follow suit for the unlikely marriage of conservatives and ecologists as politicians seek to cater to voters' increasingly populist sentiments as well as worries about climate change.

But many have also warned that the alliance stands on thin ice as particularly the Greens have made key compromises.

A column in the left-leaning Standard on Thursday described the coalition as a "daring experiment" and a "political adventure". Tabloid Oesterreich billed the Oe Vp as "powerful as never before".

Kur announced his party would head 10 ministries, including the interior, foreign, defence and finance.

The Greens will have charge of an enlarged environment ministry, as well as hold the justice, social affairs and sports and culture portfolios with Kohler, 58, nominated as Kur’s vice-chancellor.

In September polls, the Greens gained 13.9 percent of the vote in their best-ever result as the environment replaced immigration as top concern.

The Oe Vp got 37.5 percent as disappointed voters of the scandal-tainted far-right Freedom Party (F Poe) flocked to Kur’s party.

It will now be up to the Greens' almost 280 delegates to give the final go-ahead to the agreement at a party congress on Saturday. The new government is then expected to be sworn in next week.

'50-50 survival chance'

Among a raft of proposals, the programme spells out that all energy should come from renewable resources by 2030 and for more to be invested in public transport.

Though renewable energies already account for about a third of Austria's consumption -- almost double the EU average -- the nation of 8.8 million people has been among few EU members that have seen their greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase between 1990 and 2017.

Regarding immigration and security, the coalition wants to introduce preventive detention and extend the headscarf ban for school girls -- clauses which will be hard to swallow for some Greens.

Political analyst Johannes Huber told AFP that the alliance had a "50-50 chance" of survival, depending on which topics came up in the next few years.

Standard daily columnist Eric Frey also wrote that Kur and Kohler would need a "skillfulness as few politicians before them" should tricky issues arise, such as a surge in the number of asylum seekers, worsening climate change or an economic downturn.

Opposition leaders have already criticised the new coalition, with the Social Democrats (Sope) saying the Greens have failed to make a mark, while F Poe leader Norbert Hofer said the programme contained "mainly hot air".

But both the Sope and the F Poe are weakened, with the Social Democrats suffering their worst-ever results in the September polls and the far-right tumbling after the "Ibiza-gate" graft scandal brought down their then-leader and vice-chancellor in May, causing the government to collapse.

Greta's father says activism makes her happy: interview

Yahoo – AFP, December 30, 2019

Svante Thunberg (L), father of Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg (C), says
it's clear his daughter is much happier since starting her protest (AFP Photo/
NICHOLAS KAMM)

Stockholm (AFP) - Svante Thunberg, father of eco-warrior Greta Thunberg, thinks his daughter is happier being an activist but admitted in an interview he at first had reservations about her taking up the struggle.

The 50-year-old actor-turned-producer told the BBC he and Greta's mother -- opera singer Malena Ernman -- originally objected to their daughter's decision to become a climate activist.

"Obviously we thought it was a bad idea, putting herself out there with all the hate on social media," he said.

Greta, described as a shy 16-year-old, has found herself in the role of spokesperson for a generation haunted by climate change after she started sitting outside the Swedish parliament in August 2018 with her "School Strike for the Climate" sign.

Instantly recognisable with long braids and impish looks, she has become the face of youth concerns over climate change, inspiring millions and being invited to address the United Nations climate summit.

Greta's family realised just how much the existential threat of climate change weighed on her when she became depressed at age 11.

She stopped eating, started missing school and even stopped talking.

Despite his initial apprehension Svante Thunberg -- who has accompanied Greta on two sail trips over the Atlantic -- also said he thought it was clear his daughter was much happier since taking up activism.

"She changed and she could do things that she could never have done before," he said.

Diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, Greta used to be able to eat only in her own home and "didn't speak to a single person".

She is now "an ordinary child", her father added.

Greta has also faced severe criticism and been subjected to a swarm of online conspiracy theory.

Some have claimed she is a puppet of doomsayers, or paid by the "green lobby".

But her father said she was prepared for the "hate" she would receive even before she started her protest.

"She knew exactly what she was doing and I think quite frankly she's very surprised that she has been so well received," Svante Thunberg told the BBC.

Related Article:

Climate activist Greta Thunberg is Time' 2019 person of the year

EU leadership takes office touting green ambition

Rfi.fr - AFP, 1 November 2019

Von der Leyen replaced EU veteran Jean-Claude Juncker as president of the 

European Commission AFP

Brussels (AFP) - The EU's new leadership took office on Sunday, one month later then planned, promising a more united Europe that would be ready to face major challenges, including fighting climate change.

Germany's Ursula von der Leyen became president of the European Commission and marked the occasion in a short ceremony with her top EU official counterparts, including EU Council President Charles Michel who also started on Sunday.

The team took the reins as the 28-member union is faced with a mountain of difficulties, including the Brexit divorce with Britain and tense ties with superpowers China and the United States.

Von der Leyen said the officials gathered, who also included European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde, must meet a great responsibility as guardians of the EU treaties.

"It is a responsibility towards the European people and towards our founding father and mothers, but it is also a responsibility towards our children," she said.

"It is our responsibility to leave a union that is stronger than the one we inherited: ... a continent in peace with rights and liberties (and) a single market with unprecedented economic opportunities," she said.

Former IMF chief Lagarde, who took office last month, stressed that the union had only recently left the damaging debt crisis and must look to the future.

"It's a formidable challenge that awaits us, but my hope is that... we may leave this age of repairing (the EU) to one of renovation and hope," she said.

Von der Leyen, who replaced EU veteran Jean-Claude Juncker, will lead a 27-strong team of commissioners who also began work on Sunday with a clear ambition to make Europe a global powerhouse on green policy.

European Parliament President David Sassoli said the MEPs would hold an extraordinary session on December 11 -- the eve of an EU leaders summit -- to receive the commission's first climate proposals, dubbed the "Green New Deal".

The Sunday ceremony was officially the 10th anniversary of the latest European treaty that simplified an EU governance, which remains complicated and often criticised as too removed from the continent's 500 million citizens.

Her mandate was due to start November 1 but was delayed after three of her initial nominees to the commission were rejected during the parliamentary confirmation process in an unprecedented snub.

EU climate chief appoints fellow Dutch Labour man to top job

DutchNews, September 11, 2019

Diederik Samsom in June. Photo: Laurens van Putten via HH

Former Labour party leader Diederik Samsom is moving to Brussels as right hand man of EU commissioner Frans Timmermans, who has been charged with implementing Europe’s climate strategy. 

Samsom, who led negotiations to draw up a climate agreement between some 600 organisations in the Netherlands, will head a 12-man cabinet which will support Timmermans in his daily work, Dutch media reported. 

Timmermans, also a former Dutch Labour MP, reportedly said that Samsom is the ‘best man’ for the job. 

Earlier this week, Timmermans was made first executive vice president for a ‘European Green Deal’. 

His mission is to ‘look at everything from how we use and produce energy, unlock private investment and support new clean technologies, all the way through to the transport we use, the food we eat and the packaging we throw away’, according to a briefing by incoming commission chief Ursula von der Leyen.

Frans Timmermans (Pic: Flickr/PES Communications)

Related Article:

European Green Deal portfolio handed to EU vice president, in major elevation

Trump slams Danish PM's 'nasty' rejection of Greenland deal

Yahoo – AFP, Sebastian Smith, with Camille BAS-WOHLERT in Copenhagen, August 21, 2019

President Donald Trump has postponed a meeting with Danish PM Mette Frederiksen
because she does not want to sell Greenland to the United States (AFP Photo/
Tobias SCHWARZ, Nicholas Kamm)

Washington (AFP) - Donald Trump snapped back Wednesday at the Danish prime minister's "nasty" dismissal of his attempts to purchase Greenland, heightening a row which had already prompted the US president to scrap a state visit.

Hours after announcing he would not visit Copenhagen next month as planned, Trump accused Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of insulting the United States as a whole by rejecting talk of buying Greenland as "absurd."

With Frederiksen voicing her annoyance at Trump's cancellation, the war of words marks another spat between the US and one of its traditional allies since Trump came to power two years ago on an avowedly "America First" foreign policy platform.

Trump -- who made his name as a New York property mogul -- has characterized his idea of buying Greenland as essentially "a large real estate" deal, arguing it is a burden on Denmark as the autonomous territory's economy depends heavily on subsidies from Copenhagen.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said he was not the first US president to have raised the idea of buying the vast Arctic island which has housed an American air base since even before it became formally a part of Denmark.

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said: "I am both annoyed and surprised 

that the US president has cancelled a state visit" (AFP Photo/Mads Claus Rasmussen)

"The prime minister (Frederiksen) used a terrible word when talking about something we've been talking about for years," he said.

"It was not a nice statement the way she blew me off. We've done a lot for Denmark ... She said absurd. That's not the right word to use.

"It was not a nice way of doing it. She could have just said no, we'd rather not do it.

"She's not talking to me, she's talking to the United States of America."

The idea of the US buying Greenland was initially dismissed as a joke by some, but its strategic location has grown at a time when both Russia and China are flexing their muscles.

Greenland was a Danish colony until 1953, when it became part of the Danish Realm, and it gained "autonomous territory" status in 1979.

Its 55,000 inhabitants -- of whom 17,000 reside in the capital Nuuk -- are more than 90 percent Inuit, an indigenous group from Central Asia.

Greenland's population of around 60,000 was taken aback by US President's 

Trump's offer to buy the autonomous Danish island (AFP Photo/Linda Kastrup)

The government of Greenland has insisted that the island is "not for sale" and Frederiksen told reporters on Wednesday that she fully endorsed that view.

"I am both annoyed and surprised that the US president has cancelled a state visit," said the prime minister who had been preparing to host Trump early next month.

But, she added, "Denmark and the US are not in crisis, the US is one of our closest allies" and the invitation to visit was still open.

'Show more respect'

The postponement of Trump's visit -- which was announced on Twitter -- has sparked strong reactions in Denmark.

"Reality transcends imagination ... this man is unpredictable," said Morten Ostergaard of the Social Liberal Party, which is part of the ruling coalition.

"For no reason, Trump assumes that (an autonomous) part of our country is for sale. Then insultingly cancels visit that everybody was preparing for," tweeted Rasmus Jarlov, a member of the opposition Conservative Party.

Map of Greenland with key facts about the autonomous Danish territory (AFP 

Photo/Sabrina BLANCHARD)

"Are parts of the US for sale? Alaska? Please show more respect."

Nonetheless, conservative newspaper Jyllands-Posten wrote that Trump's actions ultimately benefitted Denmark, highlighting Greenland's geopolitical value.

"Mette Frederiksen has been given the opportunity to emphasize that Greenland's big affairs are in fact decided in Copenhagen ... strengthening Denmark's position in this great strategic game at stake over the Arctic," it said.

The territory is home to the US airbase Thule, crucial during the Cold War as a first line of monitoring against a potential Russian attack.

But the melting polar ice sheet is opening up potentially major shipping routes, and untapped reserved of oil, gas and minerals will become increasingly accessible, leading Russia and China to show mounting interest in the region.

As far back as 1867, the US State Department expressed interest in the island. And in 1946, President Harry S. Truman offered $100 million in gold, or parts of Alaska, in exchange for Greenland.

Germany and the Netherlands meet to discuss climate change plans

DutchNews, August 16, 2019

 Photo: DutchNews.nl 

The Netherlands and Germany will hold a joint summit next week to discuss how to dovetail their plans to combat climate change, the Financieele Dagblad said on Friday. 

Prime minister Mark Rutte and German chancellor Angela Merkel will meet in The Hague on Thursday with other government ministers to talk about working more closely together, the paper said. 

The meeting is a preparatory one, and further, more detailed, talks will take place in October. The agenda for next week includes the introduction of a carbon tax on industry and plans to store carbon dioxide underground. 

Jan Braun of The Hague’s Centre for Strategic Studies told the paper that if the Netherlands and Germany can take the same approach they will be able to act as a role model for other EU countries. In addition, their alliance will boost the likelihood of a Europe-wide carbon tax being introduced, he said.

Incoming EU chief says to launch climate fund

Yahoo – AFP, July 25, 2019

European Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen promised to launch an EU fund to
help wean members off fossil fuels as she visited coal-dependent Poland on Thursday
(AFP Photo/Janek SKARZYNSKI)

Warsaw (AFP) - Ursula von der Leyen, president-elect of the European Commission, said Thursday the European Union plans to launch a special fund to wean members off fossil fuels and wide-ranging consultations on the future of Europe.

She was speaking in coal-dependent Poland, which last month blocked an EU bid to set a target of zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and called for measures to compensate for the costs of converting to new energy sources.

"There will be a huge investment necessary in regions that have to step up into new technologies and new jobs, that's why we will create the Just Transition Fund, to support those regions," Von der Leyen told reporters at a joint press conference with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in Warsaw.

"We have to make sure that we ... take people along" as the EU reduces its emissions that cause global warming, she said.

With Britain expected to leave the EU by the end of October, von der Layen also announced that she would launch wide-ranging consultations on the future of the bloc after she takes office in November.

"We want to begin a conference on the future of Europe, that we go out in our member states and discuss how people, the European people think the future of their European Union should be," she said, calling it "an incredible endeavour."

Von der Leyen also touched on the thorny issue of the rule of law amid serious misgivings in Brussels over the legality of judicial reforms pushed through by Poland's right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) government.

The EU has launched unprecedented proceedings against Poland over "systemic threats" to the rule of law that could see its EU voting rights suspended.

"There are difficult issues we have to tackle like migration or the rule of law," von der Leyen said, calling for dialogue and mutual respect when addressing differences.

Prime Minister Morawiecki said he "great hope" for a "new opening" between Warsaw and Brussels in coming years adding that his talks with von der Leyen would focus on "a commissioner for Poland, a portfolio."

He indicated earlier this week that Poland was interested in "primarily" commission posts focused on the economy or finance.

Pompeo attends secretive global meet in Switzerland

Yahoo – AFP, Francesco FONTEMAGGI, June 1, 2019

Pompeo told journalists he was staying so long in Switzerland as he is a "big
cheese and chocolate fan" (AFP Photo/Fabrice COFFRINI)

Bern (Switzerland) (AFP) - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will take part Saturday in a secretive meeting in Switzerland of global power brokers discreetly discussing issues like Brexit and the future of capitalism.

The State Department confirmed Saturday that Pompeo, who is on a four-nation tour of Europe, would take part in the four-day Bilderberg meeting, which kicked off on Thursday in the picturesque Swiss town of Montreux.

His participation had not been previously mentioned in the official agenda and he did not figure on the list of some 130 elites from 23 countries participating in the event.

Already on the list is US President Donald Trump's son-in-law and advisor Jared Kushner, who might use the forum to try to drum up support for his yet to be unveiled Middle East peace plan.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and elder statesman Henry Kissinger also figure on the list of participants, as do Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen.

The group, which has met every year since 1954 and was created as a forum for fostering dialogue between Europe and North America, is this year discussing a range of topics such as climate change, the future of capitalism, the ethics of Artificial Intelligence, China, Russia and Brexit, the organisers said.

The Trump administration has taken strong and controversial stances on a number of the topics on the agenda, including swelling tensions with Beijing, complex relations with Moscow and a more than sceptical attitude to calls to fight climate change.

The luxury hotel where the talks are taking place has placed high bushes all around 

its perimeters to keep the press at bay (AFP Photo/Fabrice COFFRINI)

Pompeo himself recently hailed that climate change was helping open new sea routes in the usually frozen Arctic.

The luxury hotel where the talks are taking place has placed high bushes all around its perimeters to keep the press at bay.

'Cheese and chocolate fan'

The participants are meanwhile held to the so-called Chatham House Rule, meaning that participants are free to use the information received, but may not reveal the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker.

The secretive nature of the group has given birth to conspiracy theories. Some have warned, for example, that Bilderberg is a group of rich and powerful kingmakers seeking to impose a one world government.

Pompeo arrived in Switzerland on Friday on the second leg of his European tour, following a stop in Berlin and before travelling on to The Hague and London.

On Saturday morning, he and his wife Susan had a guided tour of Bern's Old Town, and on Sunday he is due to meet with his Swiss counterpart Ignazio Cassis.

Asked why he chose to stay for so long in Switzerland -- from Friday afternoon through Monday morning, Pompeo told a group of journalists travelling with him that he is a "big cheese and chocolate fan".

EU green lights trade talks with Washington to defuse tension

Yahoo – AFP, Lachlan CARMICHAEL, April 15, 2019

The EU's 28 member states had struggled for months to agree on a mandate to open
 trans-Atlantic talks, with some fearing the delay would restart a trade war with
President Donald Trump (AFP Photo/STR)

Brussels (AFP) - European Union countries on Monday overruled France and gave the green light for Brussels to open trade talks with Washington as soon as possible and defuse trans-Atlantic tensions.

The EU's 28 member states had struggled for months to agree on a mandate to open the talks, with some fearing the delay would restart a trade war with US President Donald Trump.

But EU ministers meeting in Luxembourg approved a mandate to negotiate "an agreement limited to the elimination of tariffs for industrial goods only" and another accord designed to remove non-tariff barriers.

The ministers said the mandate would exclude agriculture products, which EU trade minister Cecilia Malmstrom said amounted to a "red line" for Europe.

US officials have pushed for farm products to be included.

"I will now get in contact with our American partners with a view to organising a date for the first round as soon as possible," Malmstrom told a press conference in Brussels.

"If we agree to start, I think it can go quite quickly," the Swedish commissioner added.

Malmstrom underlined the determination of the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, to finish the talks before its five-year term ends on October 31.

'Climate chaos'

EU sources said France voted against the mandate and Belgium abstained during the Luxembourg meeting.

Pursuing a limited trade deal is a key element of a truce negotiated in July that came close earlier this month to imploding after the US threatened $11 billion in fresh trade tariffs against Europe.

Paris voted against the mandate over worries about domestic blowback just months ahead of European elections, set for May 23 to 26.

EU trade minister Cecilia Malmstrom said she w"ill now get in contact with our 

American partners with a view to organising a date for the first round as soon 

as possible" (AFP Photo/EMMANUEL DUNAND)

French President Emmanuel Macron has insisted the US first sign back up to the Paris climate accord after Trump dumped the pact in 2017, infuriating Macron.

But only a qualified majority of EU members was needed to support the talks, meaning France's "non" remained largely symbolic.

Greenpeace has called on the Commission and national governments not to enter into trade negotiations with any country that rejects the Paris climate pact.

"EU-Trump trade talks would seriously call into question the EU’s resolve on climate change," Greenpeace's Naomi Ages said, warning time was running out to prevent "climate chaos."

In a bid to win France over, its EU partners agreed to insist on environmental guarantees during the talks with Washington.

In another sop, they also made a specific mention that TTIP, a far more ambitious transatlantic trade plan that never materialised, be officially called "obsolete".

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Paratnership talks stalled following widespread protests in Germany, France and Austria over fears it would undermine EU standards on food and health.

At France's demand, agricultural products are also off the table.

'Ease trade tensions'

Berlin wants the limited deal in order to placate Trump and avoid US auto tariffs that would punish Germany's cherished exports.

The mandate from the EU stipulates that the talks would end if the US pursued more levies against Europe, including on cars. It also says the EU cannot conclude the negotiations as long as the metal tariffs remain.

The limited deal concerns only industrial goods, excluding the automotive sector. Fishing is also included, but not agriculture, services or public procurement.

The US however insists its wants to discuss agriculture, while Europeans would like to include cars. Both sides will have to bridge the gaps before the start of talks.

At a meeting last July at the White House, Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker pledged no new tariffs following those on steel and aluminium.

That peace was in danger earlier this month after the US threatened to impose tariff counter-measures of up to $11.2 billion on a host of European products in response to subsidies received by aircraft maker Airbus.

But Malmstrom said: "This is a welcome decision that will help ease trade tensions."

EU agrees to ratify Paris climate deal

Yahoo – AFP, September 30, 2016

Earth's average land and ocean surface temperatures warmed to record
levels in 2015 (AFP Photo/Philippe Huguen)

Brussels (AFP) - EU environment ministers agreed Friday to fast-track the ratification of the landmark Paris agreement on climate change, despite the fact that some national parliaments have yet to approve the deal.

"All member states greenlight early EU ratification of Paris agreement. What some believed impossible is now real," European Union President Donald Tusk said on Twitter.

"Victory!" tweeted French Environment Minister Segolene Royal.

Fears that the United States and China, the world's two biggest polluters, were leaving the EU behind on ratifying last year's historic deal pushed the bloc's 28 ministers to rush through the collective measure.

Around 60 countries have now committed to the landmark agreement designed to stem the planet's rising temperatures, which was sealed in December 2015 in the French capital.

"This is a historic day," EU Environment Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete told a news conference, "a day when we put behind us any doubts that the EU is ready to join the Paris climate agreement."

Seven EU countries including Germany and France have ratified the deal so far.

The Paris accord requires all countries to devise plans to achieve the goal of keeping the rise in temperatures within two degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels and strive for 1.5 C (2.7 F) if possible.

Leaders of EU countries had agreed at a summit in the Slovakian capital Bratislava on September 16 that the bloc should push through ratification at a collective level as soon as possible.

'Speed up the process'

Questions about how emissions cuts will be divided among EU countries have held up the deal in a number of nations, not least over the issue of how Britain's vote to leave the union will affect quotas.

The European Parliament must now give its approval before the EU actually ratifies the agreement, an EU statement said.

The ministers "agreed to speed up the process of ratification of the Paris Agreement" and "decided to go ahead with ratification at EU level", said the statement.

"Member states will ratify either together with the EU if they have completed their national procedures, or as soon as possible thereafter," it added.

Europe has prided itself on taking a global lead on climate change issues but has watched with alarm as the rest of the world has left it behind.

The Paris agreement received a major boost earlier this month when China and the United States, the two largest emitters, jointly acceded to the deal during a summit between Presidents Barack Obama and Xi Jinping.

At least 30 countries jointly ratified the Paris deal at the UN General Assembly in New York on September 21.

France's Royal told AFP earlier this month that she was upbeat the accord would take effect before the next UN-led climate conference on November 7 in Marrakesh, Morocco.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (L) shakes hands with Chinese President

Xi Jinping (C) after the US and China formally joined the Paris climate deal on

September 3, 2016

Related Article:

US, China join climate deal in 'turning point' for planet

France becomes first major nation to ratify UN climate deal
Joyful ministers seal landmark Paris Agreement to stop global warming


"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“…  4 - Energy (again)

The natural resources of the planet are finite and will not support the continuation of what you've been doing. We've been saying this for a decade. Watch for increased science and increased funding for alternate ways of creating electricity (finally). Watch for the very companies who have the most to lose being the ones who fund it. It is the beginning of a full realization that a change of thinking is at hand. You can take things from Gaia that are energy, instead of physical resources. We speak yet again about geothermal, about tidal, about wind. Again, we plead with you not to over-engineer this. For one of the things that Human Beings do in a technological age is to over-engineer simple things. Look at nuclear - the most over-engineered and expensive steam engine in existence!

Your current ideas of capturing energy from tidal and wave motion don't have to be technical marvels. Think paddle wheel on a pier with waves, which will create energy in both directions [waves coming and going] tied to a generator that can power dozens of neighborhoods, not full cities. Think simple and decentralize the idea of utilities. The same goes for wind and geothermal. Think of utilities for groups of homes in a cluster. You won't have a grid failure if there is no grid. This is the way of the future, and you'll be more inclined to have it sooner than later if you do this, and it won't cost as much.

Water

We've told you that one of the greatest natural resources of the planet, which is going to shift and change and be mysterious to you, is fresh water. It's going to be the next gold, dear ones. So, we have also given you some hints and examples and again we plead: Even before the potentials of running out of it, learn how to desalinate water in real time without heat. It's there, it's doable, and some already have it in the lab. This will create inexpensive fresh water for the planet.

There is a change of attitude that is starting to occur. Slowly you're starting to see it and the only thing getting in the way of it are those companies with the big money who currently have the old system. That's starting to change as well. For the big money always wants to invest in what it knows is coming next, but it wants to create what is coming next within the framework of what it has "on the shelf." What is on the shelf is oil, coal, dams, and non-renewable resource usage. It hasn't changed much in the last 100 years, has it? Now you will see a change of free choice. You're going to see decisions made in the boardrooms that would have curled the toes of those two generations ago. Now "the worst thing they could do" might become "the best thing they could do." That, dear ones, is a change of free choice concept. When the thinkers of tomorrow see options that were never options before, that is a shift. That was number four. ….”

"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) - (Text version)

“... Japan

Let us talk for a moment about Japan, and then I'll close the day of messages. There are thousands of souls on my side of the veil and they're just fine, more than fine. We have spoken so often of what happens at the Wind of Birth. I told you, before they even came in, they saw the potential. I looked in their eyes. "You may not last long. You know that, don't you? You're coming into this planet and you may not be here very long. And the passing that you will have with your family will not be pleasant, if any ever are. Why would you come in anyway?" I want to tell you what they said. When a soul has the mind of God, it understands fully what generates peace and what generates energy shift. You can clearly see what generates what the planet needs the most when you are about to arrive. So they said, "We're going to be part of one of the biggest compassion events the planet has ever seen." One earthquake, one tsunami. All of those who left that day will change the earth forever. And it already has. It was the same for the last tsunami as well.

Every single one of them on my side of the veil is getting ready to come back. Many old souls were involved, and just for a moment, if they could give you any information, if they could talk to you right now, if they could speak your language and look into your eyes, they would thank you for your compassion for them and those who are left. And they would say, "Be with those family members who are still alive. Enter their hearts every day and give them peace and keep them from crying, because we're OK."

Nuclear Power Revealed

So let me tell you what else they did. They just showed you what's wrong with nuclear power. "Safe to the maximum," they said. "Our devices are strong and cannot fail." But they did. They are no match for Gaia.

It seems that for more than 20 years, every single time we sit in the chair and speak of electric power, we tell you that hundreds of thousands of tons of push/pull energy on a regular schedule is available to you. It is moon-driven, forever. It can make all of the electricity for all of the cities on your planet, no matter how much you use. There's no environmental impact at all. Use the power of the tides, the oceans, the waves in clever ways. Use them in a bigger way than any designer has ever put together yet, to power your cities. The largest cities on your planet are on the coasts, and that's where the power source is. Hydro is the answer. It's not dangerous. You've ignored it because it seems harder to engineer and it's not in a controlled environment. Yet, you've chosen to build one of the most complex and dangerous steam engines on Earth - nuclear power.

We also have indicated that all you have to do is dig down deep enough and the planet will give you heat. It's right below the surface, not too far away all the time. You'll have a Gaia steam engine that way, too. There's no danger at all and you don't have to dig that far. All you have to do is heat fluid, and there are some fluids that boil far faster than water. So we say it again and again. Maybe this will show you what's wrong with what you've been doing, and this will turn the attitudes of your science to create something so beautiful and so powerful for your grandchildren. Why do you think you were given the moon? Now you know.

This benevolent Universe gave you an astral body that allows the waters in your ocean to push and pull and push on the most regular schedule of anything you know of. Yet there you sit enjoying just looking at it instead of using it. It could be enormous, free energy forever, ready to be converted when you design the methods of capturing it. It's time.

So in closing, do you understand what you're seeing? You're seeing intelligent design, quantum energy and high consciousness. You are seeing changes in Human nature. You're seeing countries putting things together instead of separating. You are seeing those who don't want war and instead want peace, good schools for their children, safety in their streets and a say in their government. We told you it was going to happen this way. I want my partner to teach these things that I have said in his 3D lectures for awhile. Many won't be able to know these things otherwise.  …”