The European Union Aims For Carbon Neutrality By 2050

     Greta Thunberg will, without question, be among the most consequential activists in human history. I don't think enough people truly grasp how devastatingly dangerous climate change is. Aside from the fact that this anthropocentric threat will cause and is causing the sixth major extinction event in the history of the planet by destroying habitat, it has also been deemed a national security threat by, among other sources, the Pentagon. Climate change is causing water to rise in small island nations, which in turn causes refugees to flee to nearby countries; fewer resources increases poverty, which increases crime and conflict in developing countries; climate change is melting the poles, opening up a dangerous new frontier in military conflict. I usually make this argument to those who question why she deserves a Nobel Peace Prize.

     “How dare you?” is a meme for many and a joke for the most stubborn asses among the global population, but this teenager with Asperger's forced developed nations to stop jerking themselves off over pledges to make more pledges and forced them, especially in Europe and North America, to act. Even when Donald Trump withdrew from the Paris Agreement and before President Biden rejoined, states making up the majority of the American economy pledged carbon neutrality by mid-century. The United States as a whole is expected to take this step, the only one that can avert a climate catastrophe; Canada, France, Brazil, Costa Rica, Norway, Suriname, Bhutan, the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, and dozens of other nations have pledged to do so in the past two years or have already achieved it. 

     Now, we have seen the biggest victory yet since Greta Thunberg mobilized climate activists in 2018 and 2019: the European Union has officially announced it will be carbon neutral by 2050, building on measurable progress already made and pledges made by nations within Europe. The EU, a body made up of 27 nations, is responsible for 10 percent of carbon emissions in the world, behind only China (which has aimed for carbon neutrality by 2060) and the United States (which has aimed to cut its carbon emissions in half by 2030). The plan was outlined just two weeks ago and is expected to be codified under the terms of the Paris Agreement this November; it may also put pressure on other nations to agree to a global future of carbon neutrality by 2050 in the near future.