“With this global commitment, we have built a broad and strong coalition of countries committed to the transition to clean energy (...). We are united by our common conviction that, to meet the 1.5°C target of the Paris Agreement, we must phase out fossil fuels.” On the second day of COP28, devoted to political declarations, at the Global Climate Action Summit in Dubai on 2 December, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, together with the COP Presidency and 118 countries, launched the ‘Global Pledge on Renewables and Energy Efficiency’.
The plan aims to triple installed renewable energy capacity to at least 11 terawatts by 2030 and to double the rate of improvement in global energy efficiency to around 4% per year.
To support this commitment, which is in line with European objectives (see EUROPE 13273/5), the EU has pledged a substantial investment of €2.3 billion over two years. The European Union also plans to use its ‘Global Gateway’ programme, which focuses on creating fair, sustainable and high-quality international partnerships, particularly with developing countries, to support the energy transition. It will also work with key financial institutions, such as the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
The global commitment, proposed for the first time last April by the President of the Commission at the Major Economies Forum, with the support of the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), was built in close cooperation with the COP28 Presidency.
In June 2023, President von der Leyen and the controversial President of COP28, Sultan Al-Jaber, met in Brussels to work together to drive a just global energy transition. The latter, who is also boss of the Emirati oil company Adnoca, was forced to clarify his position on renewable energies at a press conference on Monday 4 December. As reported by Agence France-Presse, he acknowledged that the reduction and withdrawal of fossil fuels was “inevitable”, without however deciding between the two approaches currently being debated in Dubai – either the “withdrawal” or the “reduction” of oil, gas and coal.
For its part, the EU is calling for concrete action to phase out fossil fuels from the world’s energy systems, with a particular focus on coal. It hopes that this position will be reflected in the final decision of COP28. At the same time, the European Commission is encouraging other donor countries to follow suit and speed up the implementation of the global commitment to renewables. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)