COP28 officially began in Dubai (United Arab Emirates) on Friday 1 December, inaugurating two major days of political meetings. During these sessions, the heads of state and government - including the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal, Maroš Šefčovič, and the President of the European Council, Charles Michel - aim to help guide the direction of significant future agreements. They began with the World Climate Action Summit.
Fund for loss and damage. The President of COP28, Sultan al-Jaber, welcomed the agreement reached the previous day on the creation of a fund for loss and damage. This fund, designed to help the poorest countries affected by climate change, will be managed temporarily by the World Bank. Substantial financial commitments have been announced. The European Union has pledged €220 million. According to Agence France-Presse, the United Arab Emirates will contribute $100 million, Japan $10 million, the United States $17.5 million, and the United Kingdom up to £40 million (around $50 million).
For their part, Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel emphasised the EU’s commitment and the need to reform the international system, in particular through a green bond market and carbon pricing. Mr Michel highlighted that the EU was honouring its commitment to achieving the $100 billion target set by the Paris Agreement. €23 billion has been committed by the EU this year.
Carbon pricing as an incentive for decarbonisation. The President of the European Commission also launched an event at the EU Pavilion to promote carbon markets aligned with the Paris Agreement, with the support of the IMF, the World Bank and the WTO.
She stressed the need to reduce global emissions in order to limit global warming to below 1.5 degrees, highlighting carbon pricing as a market tool to encourage innovation and decarbonisation: “Put a price on carbon. It is a market-led instrument. The message is clear: do you pollute? - You have to pay a price. Want to avoid the payment? - Innovate and decarbonise”.
Ms von der Leyen highlighted the EU’s successes, with a 40% reduction in emissions since the introduction of the carbon price, generating substantial revenue for climate action. She also called for ambitious carbon markets, covering more emissions and incorporating common standards for carbon credits, including those linked to biodiversity. In conclusion, she said: “COP28 is an essential opportunity to make progress towards these three objectives. Our aim is to establish a framework for international cooperation and to set a solid basis for the carbon credit markets.”
EU-Catalyst partnership. On the first day, Ms von der Leyen, the founder of Breakthrough Energy, Bill Gates, and the President of the European Investment Bank, Werner Hoyer, revealed the first two beneficiaries of the EU-Catalyst partnership, launched in 2021 at COP26 in Glasgow, with the aim of developing large-scale clean technology projects based in Europe.
The FlagshipONE project by Ørsted in Sweden, a revolutionary e-methanol production facility, and the Ottana CO2 Battery project by Energy Dome in Sardinia, which uses long-term energy storage technology, will receive €240 million in grants and investment.
“This is just the beginning, other projects are coming in from all over the Union and we will, of course, be very happy to support them with at least €840 million, including €420 million from the EU budget (via Horizon Europe and the Innovation Fund)”, said Commission Executive Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič.
EU support for Vietnam’s green transition plan. The day was also marked by bilateral support for Vietnam as part of the Just Transition Partnership. The President of the Commission attended the launch of Vietnam’s resource mobilisation plan, presented by the Vietnamese Prime Minister, Phạm Minh Chính.
She expressed her support for the country’s green transition in the presence of Claire Coutinho, the UK’s Secretary of State for Energy Security.
“The partnership with Vietnam is a good example of everything we want to achieve here at COP28. We want to reduce emissions while stimulating economic growth”, she declared, adding that at least €15.5 billion of public and private funding would be delivered over the next 3 to 5 years.
On 2 December, together with the COP28 Presidency, President von der Leyen will launch the global commitment to renewable energy and energy efficiency, with the aim of tripling renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency measures by 2030. Ms von der Leyen will also be speaking at the Super-pollutants Summit and taking part in the Coal Transition Accelerator (CTA) event, as well as in the round table on the global stocktake and means of implementation. (Original version in French by Pauline Denys and Nithya Paquiry)