Back in April, climate activist Greta Thurnberg encouraged MEPs to "panic" about climate change as if "the house is on fire." However, EU leaders were unable to adopt a goal for climate neutrality during Thursday's summit.
EU leaders were unable to agree upon a goal of climate neutrality by 2050 during Thursday's summit.
The initiative did not get unanimous support from all 28 member states. Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic were the main opponents of the goal.
The movement to address climate change has received significant momentum from young people in the EU. Greta Thurnberg, the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist, urged MEPs to "start panicking about climate change" in early April.
Euronews' Meabh Mc Mahon spoke with Sebastian Mang, Greenpeace's climate and energy policy adviser, at a demonstration held by the NGO ahead of Thursday's summit.
"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," he said.
Watch the video in the player above to learn more about the pressure EU leaders are feeling to make climate change a priority.