BRUSSELS - In a shift since the last European Parliament elections, mainstream parties have adopted climate change as a rallying cry - spurred in part by a wave of student strikes.
"If you compare it to 2014, it has really become one of the top issues in the European elections," Mr Murphy told AFP from his native Ireland after trips to other EU countries. The shift has occurred, Ms Schaller said, as droughts, fires and floods hurt farmers, scientists multiply dire warnings, street protests increase and the media highlight it all.
His centre-left group, the second biggest in the outgoing parliament, has reformed its agenda in the past two years to meet the climate challenge in a"holistic" way. Mr Murphy said climate has risen to the fore because it is a cross-border policy challenge also linked to economic problems and migration, which is partly driven by drought.