About 100 people gathered on Thursday evening in Rue de la Loi, opposite the European institutions in Brussels, to urge EU leaders participating in a summit there to ratify a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty.
“And one, and two, and three degrees, it’s a crime against humanity,” “Unlivable planet is a guilty lobby,” … the chants rang out near the Schuman roundabout.
“I have a scoop. The world is addicted to fossil fuels. I have a second scoop. It’s high time to start the withdrawal phase,” Nicolas Bormann, campaigner for the international solidarity platform, CNDD-11.11.11, told the demonstrators present. “The first problem with addiction is recognising that you have one.”
‘We must undertake an effective detoxification’
“The second step is to become aware of the damage it causes both to ourselves and to others,” added Bormann. “Finally, we must undertake an effective detoxification. That’s why we need a non-proliferation treaty on fossil fuels,” he explained.
His listeners agreed, although event organiser Kim Lê Quang of the ‘Rise for climate Belgium’ citizens’ movement regretted that there were not a few more people.
“I was expecting that,”Kim Lê Quang said. “That said, I hope for more support from the big organisations that share our cause. They need to mobilise when European summits are held to exert more pressure.”
‘All the officials we call on are sensitive to our discours’
He does not blame the European Union for being inactive, however. “All the officials we call on are sensitive to our speech. But we are so dependent on fossil fuels and the industrial lobbies are so powerful that the process takes far too long. And the means are insufficient.”
The EU aims to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. Its Green Deal for Europe investment plan, laid out on 14 January 2020, calls for “at least €1,000 billion" in investments.
