1.5-degree target cannot be achieved, also not in the long term, but every tenth of a degree counts
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Peter Liese: Support negative emissions and, above all, negotiate hard with third countries
“The 1.5-degree target cannot be achieved, also not in the long term”, said Peter Liese, climate policy spokesperson for the largest political group in the European Parliament (EPP, Christian Democrats), in light of the latest Copernicus publications. The EU’ observation service found that the global temperature in 2024 was more than 1.5 degrees higher than in the pre-industrial era. “Formally, the 1.5-degree target is calculated over a 20-year average and if all major polluters worldwide now drastically reduce their emissions in the short term, there is a theoretical chance of still achieving this target, but especially in view of Donald Trump's election and his announcements, I fear that this is unrealistic. Nevertheless, climate protection must remain a priority. In Paris, a strict 1.5-degree target was deliberately not set, instead the Agreement says that global warming must be limited to well below 2 degrees and every tenth of a degree counts in this challenge. We don't know exactly where the tipping points are that will make it impossible to control global warming for our children and grandchildren,” emphasized Liese.
Commission Should Withdraw Proposal for Smoke- and Aerosol-Free Environments
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Peter Liese: Proposal Leads to Justified Protests and Lacks Solid Scientific Basis
"The European Commission should withdraw and thoroughly revise the proposal for a Council recommendation on smoke- and aerosol-free environments," demands Dr. Peter Liese, the health policy spokesperson for the largest group in the European Parliament (EPP-Christian Democrats). The European Parliament rejected a resolution that generally supported the Commission's proposal last Thursday by a large majority.
Read more: Commission Should Withdraw Proposal for Smoke- and Aerosol-Free Environments
Council Recommendation on Smoke-Free Environments
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Peter Liese: This Is a Pyrrhic Victory for the Enemies of E-cigarettes / Majority Accepts the Text, but Key Member States Declare They Will Not Comply
“I regret the voting outcome in the Health Council regarding the smoke-free environment topic, but I also believe it is a Pyrrhic victory for the opponents of e-cigarettes,” explained the health policy spokesperson of the largest group in the European Parliament (EPP-Christian Democrats), Dr. Peter Liese.
“Although a majority was reached for the essentially unchanged Commission proposal, many Member States have recorded that they consider the proposal immature and do not intend to implement it, which is also not legally required. In future debates, it is clear that key Member States, and particularly the majority in the European Parliament, do not consider the equal treatment of tobacco and e-cigarettes appropriate. In Parliament, we adopted an amendment from my group, which clearly that children and adolescents must be protected from e-cigarettes because they lead to nicotine addiction. However, the majority of the European Parliament views this as an aid for heavy smokers to quitting smoking. People thereby reduce their harm by over 95%. This will be an important guideline in all future debates in the EU,” said the physician and Member of the European Parliament.
Peter Liese after the hearings of the Commissioner candidates: Now everyone must take responsibility
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Commission must take office as quickly as possible / Commissioner-designate for Health has presented himself surprisingly strongly / Rejection can have dramatic consequences
“Now everyone has to take responsibility and get out of the trenches”, said Dr Peter Liese MEP, spokesperson for the largest group in the European Parliament (EPP, Christian Democrats) on environment and health, following the hearings of the Commissioners-designate. “Wednesday, 6th November, changed a lot in my view. We know now that the next President of the USA will be Donald Trump. The politically unclear situation in France, Germany and many other EU countries is weakening the EU in this difficult global political phase. That is why we need a newly legitimised EU Commission as soon as possible. Individual concerns and political games must take a back seat to this.”