Europe unveiled a landmark green growth law on Wednesday but failed to impress teenage activist Greta Thunberg, who dubbed it a "surrender" to the threat of climate change.
The European Commission's draft of the law mandates EU members to achieve "climate neutrality" -- net zero greenhouse emissions -- by 2050.
It is seen in Brussels as the trigger to an economic revolution that will make Europe sustainable and meet the targets of the Paris climate accord.
The proposal "will be our compass for the next 30 years and it will guide us every step of the way as we build a sustainable new growth model," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters.
It "will set in stone Europe's position as a climate leader on the global stage and will inspire many of our partners."
"When your house is on fire, you don't wait a few more years to start putting it out," said Thunberg. "When the EU presents this climate law and net zero by 2050 you indirectly admit surrender, that you are giving up."
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