Climate change at the center of the concerns of the European Parliament's voters

LANGEOOG, Germany – Hungry tourists flock to the glazed balcony of Michael Recktenwald's restaurant on the German island of Langeoog, which offers a splendid view of the North Sea and the blue sky above.

Aged 53, he has lived in Langeoog for most of his life and his wife's family has been there for generations, but Recktenwald fears that their children will not be able to stay if the world continues to warm up.

Concerns about climate change have sparked mbad demonstrations in Europe over the past year. For the first time, the issue is expected to have a significant impact on this week's European Parliament elections.

Recktenwald pointed out the damaged dikes protecting the island, which is part of the Friesian archipelago off the coasts of Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark. Islands like Langeoog are among the most vulnerable regions to rising sea levels as a result of climate change.

"The sea level is already high and storm surges are becoming more violent," he told The Associated Press. "The dune chain is under more attack, putting our fresh water supply at risk."

A recent opinion poll conducted in Germany showed that climate change had outpaced immigration, which was of greatest concern to voters in the EU's most populous country. Elsewhere in the EU, climate change also occupies a prominent place among the main problems – as well as immigration and the economy – before the vote of the European Parliament that began Thursday and will continue Sunday in the 28 countries of the bloc.

"In many countries, the issue of the climate has become increasingly one of the main concerns of voters when they talk about European issues," said Derek Beach, a political scientist at the University of Aarhus, Denmark. "In Denmark, for example, this year it's really the only topic we're talking about in the European Parliament elections."

Greta Thunberg, a teenage climate activist, inspired a school strike movement "Fridays for the Future" in her native Sweden, which spread throughout Europe and brought tens of thousands of people on the streets to demand faster action against climate change. The direct action group Extinction Rebellion has interrupted traffic across London for days to insist on this point. Both cite temperature records and dramatic warnings from scientists as reasons to act now to combat global warming.

Yet what remains an abstract threat for most Europeans has become very real for Recktenwald.

"We are directly affected," he said, pbading bathers enjoying the sun behind the wicker windbreaks that are the signature of German seaside resorts.

In collaboration with eight other families around the world and a Scandinavian youth group, the Recktenwald launched legal action to force the EU to set more ambitious targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse. A court dismissed their case Wednesday for procedural reasons, but the plaintiffs are considering appealing.

Recktenwald, who does not belong to any political party, hopes that European leaders will listen to voters who want their governments and the EU to take decisive action against global warming.

Parties that have always championed environmental causes such as the Greens in Germany are well placed to take advantage of the growing concern over climate change. The party registered unprecedented support of 19% in Germany in a survey published last week, surpbading the center-left Social Democrats who are part of the government coalition of Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"We are very optimistic about forming the largest parliamentary group we have ever had in the European Parliament," said Ska Keller, one of the two leading candidates for the European Greens.

"The climate issue is finally on everyone's lips, a subject that we have been credibly advocating for decades," she added. "We have very concrete proposals on what we want to do against the climate crisis, for the preservation of biodiversity, for the preservation of our environment."

The Greens won 52 seats in the last EU legislature, making it the fourth largest political group. We expect that they will get more than 751 seats in the European Parliament.

Other parties have also become aware of the issue of global warming.

The bloc of Merkel's center-right union pledged to implement the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, which aims to keep global average temperatures rising well below 2 degrees Celsius ( 3.6 Fahrenheit) by the end of the century compared to the pre-industrial period. Like many others, however, the party has been reluctant to support rigorous measures, deemed necessary by scientists, to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as the addition of a tax. on climate with fossil fuels.

In France, the rise in taxes on gasoline triggered national demonstrations and created the movement of the yellow vest for economic justice, whose weekly events since November, especially in Paris, have often turned violent. This has made other European governments reluctant to openly support such an initiative. Some right-wing parties are attacking the science of global warming in an attempt to win voters fearing the economic consequences of fighting climate change.

Experts believe that the EU as a whole is perhaps a better place to make decisions on climate change than its national governments.

"It's probably one of the easiest things for most voters to see something that only Europe can handle," Beach said.

Nevertheless, climate change may seem like a luxury issue for voters in troubled countries, such as Italy, he said.

"When your 20 years and older are both unemployed, you may be worrying a bit more about this kind of economic problem," Beach said.

Uwe Garrels, Mayor of Langeoog, is well aware of the tension between environmental protection and economic prosperity.

The island, a half-hour ferry ride from the German mainland, was poor until tourism created jobs. Today, about 1,800 permanent residents and 2,400 seasonal workers welcome more than 10,000 visitors during the summer months.

Despite the drought of last year, locals do not want to give up their lush lawn for fear of spoiling the idyllic image of the island.

Garrels suggests that Langeoog, a 20-square-kilometer island located in the heart of a World Heritage Site with car-free streets and clean air, can at least help to increase visitors' awareness of the environment.

"We can not be seen in isolation from the whole country or from the European Union," he said. "You can not create an oasis of sustainability on Langeoog if this is not the case in the rest of the country."

The message on climate has already been pbaded on to voters like Susanne Hasenpflug, who was on a day trip to Langeoog from the mainland, carrying her dogs to the front of her bike.

"It's the main subject when you go out to see friends or go out for a pub beer," she said. "Even the youngest, they are afraid of the future."

Recktenwald, the owner of the restaurant, hopes the European elections will encourage stronger climate action from top to bottom.

"If we do not do anything," he said, "then my children will probably have trouble living here. It is relatively certain. "

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For more information from the Associated Press on the European Parliament elections, visit https://www.apnews.com/EuropeanParliament

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