Why is this important?

Last week Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the landmark Paris climate Agreement. It’s no time for lament or empty promises. We need to mobilise for action.

It’s simple: Europe needs to pick up the slack, NOW. And it can. In just a couple of days the European Parliament (EP) will hold a vote on Europe’s key law which will define our climate action until 2030, and set binding national targets for limiting CO2 emissions. [1] The proposal on the table now could go some way towards delivering EU’s climate commitments under the Paris Agreement. But it’s not nearly enough. And even the minimum is far from granted: because of Trump, many voices now are spreading doubt if the EU should make any effort at all, and instead keep to fossil-burning-as-usual - and destroy any chance for our children’s children to live on a healthy planet.

We need your voice today to channel the outrage over Trump into real change for Europe and the world. Europe needs to stand up and show the doubters and climate change deniers that we will do the best we can.

We will bring our petition to the leaders of Parliament’s political groups and ask them not just for a public announcements to protect our climate, but to take concrete action: Support the strongest possible regulation in the upcoming vote. We’ll make sure they know: this is the vote you will be remembered for - so be brave, and show us the leadership we need in the times of Trump. Thanks to Trump climate is finally on the headlines - and the MEPs are much more likely than ever to follow the wind of public opinion!

The Paris climate deal adopted in December 2015 is the most important international tool we have to prevent the worst effects of catastrophic climate change on our health, agriculture, environment, and indeed our civilisation.

Trump is the only significant leader today who continues to publicly indulge in the delusion that man-made climate-change is not real. His decision to pull the US out of the agreement is a heavy blow. But no, it’s not the end. We can let it unite us.

We have survived much worse than Trump, and his era will come to an end. Clean energy is already taking over fossil fuels everywhere in the world. But we cannot wait to act to limit our destructive impact on the climate. We need Europe to finally be the leader it claims to be - and do more, to close the gap caused by the US leaving the Paris Agreement.

We will make sure our parliamentarians know that the upcoming vote on the EU’s emission reduction targets might be the most important one of their careers. It’s the one that will define them either as the people who stood up for all the generations to come, or who failed Europe and the world with short-sightedness and cowardice.

Just last month the WeMove community has shown what we can really do when we come together. We helped push our leaders to adopt a new regulation which will cause the most polluting coal power stations in the EU to either modernise or close down for business. We acted across borders for a common cause - a cleaner air and healthier climate, and the regulation was passed by a margin of 0.14%!

Today we need this power again. Show Trump that we care: but not necessarily about him! Join us with your voice now, and take action for the climate!

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