With less than five months to go until COP28, the European environment and energy ministers welcomed its controversial president, Sultan Al-Jaber, to Valladolid on Tuesday 11 July to discuss the implementation of the Paris Agreement commitments and the next steps to be considered for climate action.
With a view to the UN conference to be held in December in Dubai (United Arab Emirates), Spain’s Minister for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, made the second day of the informal ministerial meeting (see EUROPE 13218/4) under her presidency a privileged moment, when the ministers from the European Union, Norway, Iceland and Switzerland had the opportunity to take stock of the state of negotiations and the concerns and priorities of Europeans.
At the end of what she described as a very “productive” session, Ms Ribera said she was convinced of Sultan Al-Jaber’s commitment and conviction. “He has presented his working proposal, which is in line with what we all think”, she said.
She added: “The President of COP28 is someone who has been working on climate and energy issues for twenty years. In his country, he has activated one of the world’s largest investment funds for the deployment of renewable energies and the diversification of energy solutions”.
The Spanish minister therefore considered Sultan Al-Jaber to be competent with regard to this process, which is necessary for the green transition, and to which he has expressed a “very strong commitment”.
“He believes that the task entrusted to him is to show that a small country with a recent history can contribute to solving global problems, and he has told us about some of the proposals that he considers essential for making progress in decarbonising the oil and gas sector”, Teresa Ribera also reported.
At the same time, however, the Spanish minister qualified her confidence in the President of COP28. “We have to respect his message, but we also have to support him and make sure that the commitment he is announcing can really materialise over time”, she said.
This overview provided an opportunity for the European ministers to react and, in turn, to share the evidence of Europe’s commitment, “over many years”, to the fight against climate change, a commitment that has been reflected in both the EU’s domestic and foreign policies. The ministers also expressed their desire to “build bridges” not only with other OECD countries, but also with the major emerging economies.
On this last point, the search for greater efficiency in supporting the most vulnerable states in the face of the climate crisis was mentioned.
This position echoes the statements made by the Commission’s Executive Vice-President, Frans Timmermans, ahead of the debates. “The countries of the Pacific, which are literally threatened with extinction, need our support and global cooperation. I was recently in China (see EUROPE 13215/9) to convince the Chinese to work closely with us, and I have to say that their response was positive”, he declared, calling on the main issuing countries, members of the G20, to “do more”.
“We need to rally everyone behind an ambitious and realistic path towards Dubai, and I am sure that we will succeed with the help of the Member States”, said Mr Timmermans. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)