Greenpeace activists staged a protest at the European Commission in Brussels ahead of Thursday’s leaders’ summit, projecting an animation of the planet as a bomb with a lit fuse to highlight the ‘climate emergency’.
Leaders and commissioners are meeting to discuss whether to adopt a 2050 ‘net zero’ emissions target.
While many EU countries back the plan, others believe Europe should meet existing targets before setting new deadlines.
Climate change is among the key topics facing leaders as they gather in Brussels, although the summit is likely to be dominated by debate over who should replace Jean-Claude Juncker as the next President of the European Commission.
Greenpeace climate policy adviser Sebastian Mang said: “The EU and the new European Commission president need to make the climate emergency a top priority, take action to bring emissions down immediately and hold the biggest polluters responsible.”