EU leftists demand ‘climate emergency’ Parliament committee

(EurActiv, 28 Jun 2019) The European Parliament’s leftist group (GUE/NGL) has proposed setting up a special climate emergency parliamentary committee to shift the spotlight on to green issues even more over the next five years.

GUE/NGL has suggested that the new committee would be a special task force like the ones set up in the past to investigate the Lux Leaks financial scandal and the Dieselgate emissions testing fraud.

Climate change is currently handled by the environment committee (ENVI) but the 69-member-strong panel also deals with everything else from plastic waste and chemicals to disease prevention and food safety.

Other committees like energy and industry (ITRE), transport (TRAN) and agriculture (AGRI) also deal with climate policies to different extents. That is why the leftist group wants to dedicate one committee to it in order to focus minds.

Spanish MEP Sira Rego, the group’s candidate to be Parliament president, told reporters that “we want one of our first initiatives […] to be focused  on the eco-social crisis”.

“We will bring to the Conference of Presidents the proposal to create a special committee on climate emergency,” Rego added. “It is a core issue that must be on the agenda.”

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EurActiv, 28 Jun 2019: EU leftists demand ‘climate emergency’ Parliament committee