The EU reaffirmed its commitment on Monday to implementing the Paris climate agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to playing the leading role in global efforts to tackle climate change through its climate diplomacy.
The Council conclusions on climate diplomacy, adopted in Brussels on the margins of the meeting of European foreign ministers, underline that COP24 (Katowice, Poland, 3-14 December 2018) must “deliver our commitments needed for the full operationalisation of the Paris Agreement, based on a universal regime with rules applicable to all”.
Climate and security conference in June. Clear in the view that climate change has direct and indirect implications for international security and stability, the Council stresses the need to step up global efforts to address the water-related aspects of climate change and to build climate-related security aspects into all relevant sectoral policies.
It announced that, on the initiative of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, a high-level conference on climate and security will be take place in Brussels in June to highlight the increasing importance of addressing the destabilising effects and risks of climate change.
EU needs to raise level of ambition, says Leinen. Welcoming the Council conclusions, MEP Jo Leinen (S&D, Germany), Parliament’s rapporteur on EU climate diplomacy, immediately seized the opportunity to stress the need for major diplomatic efforts ahead of COP24.
“To reach the two degree target, the EU’s climate diplomacy should aim at improving the commitments made in Paris, not just meeting the existing promises. The EU needs to actively seek for partners around the globe to create political momentum in Poland”, he said in a press release. “These efforts”, he goes on, “will gain a lot of credibility if the EU does not appear empty-handed at COP24, but with an offer how to make its own contribution more ambitious”. A draft report, prepared jointly by Parliament’s environment and foreign affairs committees will be finalised in June. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)