Four members of EU Staff for Climate and one member of its trainee subgroup represented EU Staff for Climate in a meeting on 20 June 2023 with a cabinet member of President Charles Michel, at the premises of the European Council.

This meeting followed EU Staff for Climate sending three position papers to the presidents of the main European institutions.

The EU Staff for Climate group appreciated the open and candid conversation with their interlocutor. They also noted that he had read the position papers carefully and was keen to discuss the ideas put forward in them.

The discussion concentrated on how the European Union could do better to address the climate emergency and lead by example at European and international level in order to respond to the existential threat posed by the climate crisis.

The EU Staff for Climate group came with a unified message, aligned with the spirit of our 2019 petition: telling the truth.

On the topic of working towards true carbon neutrality in the institutions and the institutions addressing radically their own greenhouse gas emissions, the group made the point that our commitments should not be watered down and that absolute carbon emissions should be reported.

On how State aid could become an effective tool to address the climate emergency, the group argued that putting in place a chief environmental and foresight team would be key to enforcing our policies towards carbon neutrality and nature protection. They were pleased to note that their interlocutor had good knowledge about the inextricable links between nature and climate.

Finally, on how the European Union could object the construction of the EACOP crude oil pipeline in Africa, the group argued that truth must first be told and that facts on the EACOP pipeline must be looked at. This pipeline would pump crude oil out of Africa for the needs of the global market and thus mostly for the global North. It is our responsibility to engage with this not only because TotalEnergies is the European promoter of the project, but also because we are – once again – the consumers, not Africans.

Moreover, the then forthcoming open letter based on an eco-awareness and eco-anxiety survey by the EU blue book trainees was also discussed at the meeting. The cabinet member was keen to learn more about this paper.

All meeting attendees agreed on the importance of dialogue at all different levels as an essential tool to achieve the EU climate objectives.

You can now read the open letter by Bluebook M23 Trainees for Climate addressed to European Commission President Von der Leyen and the future College of Commissioners on our website.