On a trip to Egypt for the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen signed a series of new energy and climate partnerships with third countries on Monday 7 and Tuesday 8 November.
The President first concluded a Memorandum of Understanding with Kazakhstan on Monday to establish closer economic and industrial integration between the EU and Astana in the strategic value chains of raw materials, refined materials, batteries and renewable hydrogen.
The following day, Ms von der Leyen signed a similar agreement with Namibia on the development of mining and renewable hydrogen value chains.
“This is not only a huge step forward for the EU’s climate ambitions but also an agreement beneficial to Namibia, a front-runner in the development of renewable hydrogen in Africa”, said the Commission President.
The day before, she said that the partnership with Kazakhstan “shows Europe’s commitment to work with partner countries on our shared commitments to a greener and more resilient future”.
In both cases, the parties committed to developing a roadmap for 2023-2024 with concrete joint actions agreed within 6 months of the signing of the partnership.
The details of the agreements, such as the volumes of hydrogen involved, the investments needed and the distribution of costs, will be specified at a later stage, a Commission spokesperson said.
Ms von der Leyen also signed five Memoranda of Understanding for a Forest Partnership with Guyana, Mongolia, the Republic of Congo, Uganda and Zambia (see other article in this newsletter).
(Original version in French by Damien Genicot)