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A delegation from the European Parliament (EP) led by Portuguese Social Democratic MEP Lídia Pereira will be in Belém, Brazil, to participate in the United Nations climate conference, the institution announced on Monday.
In a statement, the EP announced that Lídia Pereira, MEP from the PSD (which is part of the European People’s Party) will be in Belém from today until Friday.
At this meeting organized by the United Nations not only to reach commitments on the goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, carbon released by human activity, and to seek solutions to mitigate the effects of climate change, the MEPs in the EP delegation will meet with leaders from other countries.
Cited in the statement released by the European institution, Lídia Pereira stated that, on the tenth anniversary of the Paris Agreement, “concrete actions” are needed.
On November 13, the EP approved a proposal that sets the climate goals of reducing the European Union (EU) emissions by 90% by 2040, also postponing the greenhouse gas emission licenses.
The report was approved with 379 votes in favor, 248 against, and ten abstentions.
The proposal approved by the MEPs during the plenary in Brussels defined a 90% reduction in pollutant emissions to the atmosphere by 2040 and postponed until 2028 the emissions trading license system for greenhouse gases.
Every two years, a report will also be made to monitor the progress of the 27 EU countries and assess the need to review the goals for the next 15 years.
The approved report also wants the fight against climate change and the ecological transition to accompany the improvement of the competitiveness of the European political-economic bloc.
The main objective remains the same: to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, but in recent months various sectors, particularly the automotive industry, have expressed concerns regarding the targets set by Brussels.
Member States will also have greater flexibility in implementing these ecological measures, as long as they maintain the goal of reaching 2040 in line with the EU’s objectives.
After this step, Member States and the European Parliament must begin negotiations to “fine-tune” the law and make it binding.
In a statement released at the time, Social Democratic MEP Lídia Pereira, shadow rapporteur of this document together with the Bloco’s Catarina Martins, said that the approval “is a clear signal that Europe continues to lead in the climate transition” and that the ambition for carbon neutrality by 2050 is “alive”.
The PSD acknowledged that it was “difficult to achieve a favorable vote in the EP Environment Committee,” but the plenary vote today demonstrated that this EU institution “continues to be capable of building balanced solutions,” of “uniting ambition and realism, keeping Europe at the forefront of global climate action.”