COP25 on climate change opened on Monday 2 December in Madrid with a sense of urgency. It remains to translate words into deeds.
Alarmed by the fact that no country to date has met its commitments under the Paris Agreement, while “we are facing a global climate crisis”, Secretary-General of the UN, Antonio Guterres, called on the leaders of the 200 delegations present to put an end to “our war against nature” and to choose “hope” over “capitulation”.
The EU responded: “We Europeans are ready”. These were the words of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to summarise the scope of the European Green Deal expected on 11 December.
“Our goal is to be the first climate neutral continent by 2050. If we want to achieve that goal, we have to act now, we have to implement our policies now”, she said at the opening ceremony.
And to announce that in March, she will propose “the first-ever European Climate Law to make the transition to climate neutrality irreversible”, a Just Transition for all.
According to her, the European Green Deal will be a “new growth strategy” that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions while creating jobs and improving quality of life. This will require massive investment in research, innovation and green technologies - the vocation of the 1,000 billion euros investment plan for a sustainable Europe over the next decade.
“We will be as ambitious as we can throughout these COP negotiations. We are ready to contribute with our European Deal to a Global Green Deal.”
Along the same lines and convinced of the need to “do more” to respond to the climate and environmental emergency and to respond to the calls of young people, “who are right”, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, considered that “the time has come for a green revolution”. According to him, it is possible and it is an opportunity to be seized. “Europe has proven that it is possible to reconcile economic growth and lower emissions”, he stressed.
“Many European leaders have called on the Commission to propose a New European Green Deal with concrete measures and this will be a ‘cease fire’ with nature, and even more, a ‘peace treaty’ with nature. We need also an ambitious Just Transition Fund and a significant part of the next European budget to be climate-related”, he said.
And to assure that he will give priority to these issues at the European Council on 12 and 13 December, “because Europe has to invest massively in new technologies, research, and innovation”.
Charles Michel also stressed the need for solidarity with developing countries: “We must support our partners in the world”, he said, recalling that in 2018 alone, the EU and its Member States contributed 74.4 billion euros in development aid, including 21 million euros for climate objectives.
“Perhaps the world is not yet changing at the pace we want, but young people give me hope”, said former COP24 President and newly appointed Polish Minister of Climate Michal Kurtyka.
The French Prime Minister, Édouard Philippe (in the absence of President Macron, who was attending the ceremony honouring the French soldiers who died in Mali), was also optimistic, believing that “this fight is winnable”.
In particular, this COP is expected to prepare the ground for the strengthening or updating of the NDCs of all parties in 2020. However, current ambition levels would need to be increased more than fivefold to achieve the emission reductions required over the next decade to meet the 1.5°C target, according to the latest UNEP report. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)