Greta Thunberg urges EU to do ‘as much as possible’ on climate

Swedish teen climate activist Greta Thunberg on Wednesday urged EU leaders to “do as much as possible” to step up the bloc’s ambitions to reduce carbon output at this week’s summit.
“Of course none of what has been proposed or pushed is in line with the science, but we are still demanding them to do as much as possible... to commit to what they had promised to do” in the 2015 Paris Agreement, Thunberg told AFP in an interview.
Leaders must agree by the end of this year on their 2030 targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and the European Commission has proposed a goal of slashing them 55 percent compared with 1990 levels -- up from 40 percent under earlier plans.
The ultimate aim under Brussels’ timetable would be carbon neutrality by 2050.
Now heads of government will have their say, and must hammer out an option palatable to a European Parliament that has already criticised the Commission’s plan as not ambitious enough.
On Wednesday, 11 member states including France, Spain and the Netherlands backed reductions of “at least 55 percent” by 2030.
But many countries in the EU’s east, notably coal-intensive heavyweight Poland, are reluctant.
Climate charities have warned that reductions of 55 or even 60 percent in EU greenhouse output would fall short of what’s needed to keep global warming below the two-degrees-Celsius ceiling agreed in Paris.
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Evening brief: France, Belgium, Germany join list of nations with monkeypox
Here are today's top news, analysis, and opinion. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times. France, Belgium, Germany join growing list of nations with monkeypox cases France, Germany and Belgium confirmed their first cases of the monkeypox virus on Friday, joining European nations Spain, Italy, Portugal and Sweden, and Canada, Australia and the United States in reporting a disease endemic to parts of Africa.
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Chicago shooting: 2 dead, 8 injured after firing at restaurant, say police
Two people are dead and another eight wounded following a shooting near a fast food restaurant in Chicago that sent bystanders scattering, authorities said. The shooting happened about 10:40 p.m. Thursday near a McDonald's on the city's Near North Side, a few blocks from the city's Magnificent Mile shopping district. One person was taken into custody and a weapon was recovered, police said in statement.
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France, Belgium, Germany join growing list of nations with monkeypox cases
France, Germany and Belgium confirmed their first cases of the monkeypox virus on Friday, joining European nations Spain, Italy, Portugal and Sweden, and Canada, Australia and the United States in reporting a disease endemic to parts of Africa. Belgian experts said two cases - in two different cities - had been detected. Spain reported 14 new cases today to take its cumulative caseload to 21.
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Canada to ban China’s Huawei, ZTE from 5G networks over national security concerns
The Canadian government announced on Thursday that it is banning Chinese telecommunications firms Huawei and ZTE from its fifth generation (5G) infrastructure to protect national security. In the 21st century, cybersecurity is national security.
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‘Peresvet' and ‘Zadira': What we know about Russia's new laser weapons
Russia on Friday claimed to have used powerful laser weapons in its brutal war on Ukraine; Moscow said the 'next generation' weapons had been used to burn up drones launched by Ukrainian forces. Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky appears unworried (for now) and has taunted Russia, comparing the laser weapons to 'wonder weapons' promised by Nazi Germany to stave off defeat in World War II.