The Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union has submitted to the Member States new draft conclusions for the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), which will be held in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, from 6 to 18 November.
Dated 30 September, the document states that the EU Council is ready to update the EU’s and Member States’ ‘nationally determined contributions’ (NDCs) “as soon as possible” in line with the final outcome of the EU’s ‘Fit for 55 package’ of climate legislation.
The NDCs are non-binding national plans outlining the individual actions planned by each Paris Agreement country to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The draft conclusions also call on all parties, in particular major emitters, to “increase their short- and long-term ambition and enhance climate action”, including through the use of carbon pricing.
Climate finance
On climate finance, the text renews the commitment of the EU and its Member States to continue to increase their financing to help less developed countries tackle climate change, in order to reach the developed countries’ target of mobilising at least $100 billion per year as soon as possible and until 2025.
It should be noted that the Member States have already adopted specific conclusions on this issue on Tuesday 4 October (see EUROPE 13035/22).
Loss and damage
The draft conclusions also underline the EU Council’s readiness to continue the ‘Glasgow Dialogue’, the objective of which is to discuss how to finance activities aimed at avoiding and reducing loss and damage, i.e. damage caused by climate disruption that cannot be avoided either by action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or by adaptation.
This is a subject of friction between developed and least developed countries. While the latter are calling for more solidarity through specific financing for loss and damage, the EU and the US reject the idea of a financing mechanism that is separate from that for adaptation to climate change.
Addressing this issue at the ‘pre-COP’ meeting in Kinshasa, the European Commission’s Executive Vice-President in charge of the Green Deal, Frans Timmermans, said he hoped for a “strong political signal of commitment to enhance the financing architecture for averting and minimizing loss and damage” at COP27.
This should include recognition of new initiatives such as the ‘Global Shield against disaster and climate risks’ - an instrument to which the G7 countries have committed - and UN Secretary General António Guterres’ initiative on early warning systems.
The EU Council plans to adopt the conclusions on 24 October, at the next meeting of EU environment ministers.
For their part, MEPs approved a draft resolution (66 votes in favour, 10 against and 3 abstentions) on Monday 3 October in the European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI).
The paper calls on the EU and G20 nations to commit to more ambitious GHG emission reduction targets before COP27 and urges all developed countries to ensure that the $100 billion funding target is finally met and that the money actually flows from 2022 onwards.
The resolution will be put to a vote by all MEPs at the next plenary session of the Parliament, from 17 to 20 October.
See the draft EU Council conclusions: https://aeur.eu/f/3fl (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)