Editorial Board
Climate Change Just Notched a Win in Europe
The European Union’s centrist leaders must learn their lessons and double down on achieving net zero.
Keep it up.
Photographer: Christophe Archambault/AFP/Getty ImagesThe European Union’s efforts to combat climate change have suffered an electoral blow. Its centrist leaders need to wake up before this setback clears the way for an environmental catastrophe.
Five years ago, voters in European Parliament elections demanded action to fight global warming. Now the “green wave” has subsided. In the latest elections, hard-right populist groups won more than a quarter of seats, up from about a fifth in the outgoing Parliament — in part by opposing the EU’s environmental policy and portraying its authors as elitist and out of touch. Support for Green candidates slid to 7% from 10%.