European Greens call for “extraordinary summit of leaders to address extreme heat”

Brussels – With the European Union in the grip of extreme heat, “the heads of state and government leaders must convene an emergency summit to urgently strengthen Europe’s climate protection measures and the Green Deal.” This is the proposal from the European Greens, who have expressed concern about the record-breaking heatwave affecting the whole continent. They are calling for genuine mitigation measures and a response to the phenomenon. They cite data from the World Health Organisation (WHO), according to which over the last four years, more than 200,000 people have died as a result of the high temperatures, to call for new commitments in support of the Green Deal and the green transition. 

“The WHO reminds us that almost all heat-related deaths are preventable,”  the party’s co-chair, Vula Tsetsi, stressed, pointing the finger at the EPP. “The European People’s Party, together with the far right, has been working to roll back key parts of the Green Deal, from nature restoration to deforestation protections, precisely those measures that protect people from heatwaves, floods, droughts, and wildfires,” she noted. Hence, the call for the Environment Ministers of the 27 member states to prepare “an emergency meeting of EU government leaders to urgently strengthen Europe’s climate protections and the Green Deal.”