UK Parliament declares 'climate emergency'

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In a first, British Parliament Wednesday declared "environment and climate change emergency."

The motion called by Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn does not legally bind the government to act on the issue.

“Labour has just forced the parliament to declare a climate emergency. Now, it's time to get organizing our communities,” Corbyn said.

The action comes after 16-year-old climate activist, Greta Thunberg and Extinction Rebellion protested in London, demanding a firm commitment by the government to ensure zero carbon emission.

Thunberg, while addressing the UK lawmakers on April 23, sought a string of action to combat global warming.

“Our emissions have to stop if we are to stay below 1.5-2C of warming. The ‘lowering of emissions' is of course necessary but it is only the beginning of a fast process that must lead to a stop within a couple of decades or less,” Thunberg said.

Declaration of climate emergency is one of the significant demands of Extinction Rebellion activists who have been blocking various landmarks in London. Police have arrested 1,078 activists in the last two weeks.

In a bid to ensure lawmakers' support for the motion, activists held a series of meetings with senior government and elected representative. They met the UK environment secretary, Michael Gove on Tuesday, demanding ‘net-zero' carbon emissions.

Gove agreed on the demand, but no timeline was promised to meet the target.

The Parliament's declaration, according to activists, is a major victory towards fulfilling the target of zero emissions.

In a tweet, Extinction Rebellion said, this has seen them start to #TellTheTruth about the climate & ecological crisis. They must now halt biodiversity loss, go net #ZeroCarbon2025 and create a #CitizensAssembly.

Meanwhile, the UK's Committee on Climate Change (CCC) submitted its recommendation for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

The UK reduced its emissions by over 40 percent from 1990 to 2017, while its economy grew by more than two thirds.

The report highlights the country's effort to build a net zero economy including low carbon electricity production to emission-free electric vehicles.

“This report now sets us on a path to become the first major economy to legislate to end our contribution to global warming entirely," Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Greg Clark said.

(Top Image: Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn speaks at a Climate emergency protest in Parliament Square outside the Houses of Parliament on May 1, 2019 in London, England.)