The European Commission’s Vice-President for the Green Pact, Frans Timmermans, warned Saturday that the European bloc is «prepared to leave COP27» in the face of pressure to abandon the goal of limiting the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
In an appearance before the media from the Egyptian city of Sharm el Sheikh, Timmermans said he was confident that the last-minute negotiations could produce a positive result, although he acknowledged that he was «increasingly concerned» about the course of the talks.
«The European Union prefers no decision to a bad one,» he explained at a press conference reported by Bloomberg.
On his Twitter account, Timmermans issued a stark warning about the expectations facing the summit in the coming hours.
«We are in prorogation. The EU is united in our ambition to move forward and build on what we agreed in Glasgow. Our message to partners is clear: we cannot accept that 1.5 degrees will die here, today,» he warned.
