Decrying EU Proposal to Address Climate Crisis by 2050 as 'Too Little Too Late,' Greenpeace Activists Stage #HouseOnFire Demonstration

Greenpeace activists on Thursday dropped banners and held flares in an attempt to make the Europa building in Brussels, Belgium appear to be on fire as the continent's leaders gathered to address the planetary emergency.

"The world is on fire and our governments are letting it burn," Greenpeace EU director Jorgo Riss said in a statement.

Protesters arrived at the building Thursday morning in a vintage fire engine. The 61 demonstrators came from seven countries, according to Greenpeace EU. Twenty-eight climbers "scaled the summit venue and wrapped the building with images of giant lapping red and yellow flames, setting off billowing clouds of black and white smoke, red distress flares, and sounding a loud fire alarm," the group said in a statement. 

According to The Associated Press, E.U. Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen is fighting to get support for a carbon-neutral plan, but is facing particular resistance from  Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic who object to a clean energy transition by voicing cost concerns.

To get the support of all E.U. members, von der Leyen on Wednesday unveiled a new "European Green Deal" she called a "master plan," with an offer of some 100 billion euros ($130 billion) in public and private funds to help the fossil-fuel reliant E.U. nations make the transition to lower emissions.

"It's not enough for them to commit to a climate neutral E.U. in 2050," said Riss. "The presidents and prime ministers in Brussels today will be long gone by then. What counts even more is the urgent action they take now, while they are in power."