The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), which is being held in Dubai (United Arab Emirates), saw the arrival on Friday 8 December of a European Union parliamentary delegation led by Peter Liese (EPP, German) and Mohammed Chahim (S&D, Dutch). Although the European Parliament has no formal negotiating power, its presence is testimony to its influential role.
As a reminder, on 21 November 2023 (see EUROPE 13297/5), MEPs adopted a demanding resolution calling for the elimination of all fossil fuel subsidies by 2025, a tripling of renewable energy production and a doubling of energy efficiency by 2030.
During this first day in Dubai, at a joint press conference with Peter Liese, the Commissioner for Climate Action, Wopke Hoekstra, stressed the importance of Parliament in implementing the EU’s climate commitments.
Mr Liese stressed the role of MEPs as key co-legislators in the EU’s climate policy, saying that the delegation was there to support and push the EU’s negotiators to achieve results that meet the climate challenge.
Wopke Hoekstra also addressed the current geopolitical difficulties, stressing that global tensions and differences in national interests make negotiations difficult, but crucial. He stressed the need to tackle the issue of fossil fuels and the subsidies that support them, calling for their elimination, and reiterated the EU’s commitment to tripling renewable energies and doubling energy efficiency.
On this last point, Mohammed Chahim, Vice-Chairman of the delegation, was keen to stress in a press release: “We cannot achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement while supporting industries that are damaging our planet. Phasing out fossil fuel subsidies is not only an environmental necessity, but also a crucial step towards a cleaner and more resilient future”.
Mr Chahim also highlighted transparency as the foundation of effective climate negotiations, criticising the record presence of fossil fuel lobbyists at COP28 and the links between the COP28 President and the Emirati oil company Adnoc. This was not reflected in the statements made by Mr Liese and Mr Hoekstra.
However, the Chairman of the delegation returned to the EU’s role in climate financing, with more than half of the $700 million pledged in Dubai for climate loss and damage coming from Europe. He highlighted the EU’s ambition to reduce greenhouse gases, with a target of a 57% reduction by 2030.
Commissioner Hoekstra also mentioned the success of the EU carbon market, a mechanism that has attracted worldwide interest. He expressed surprise at the growing interest in carbon markets in Latin America, Africa and Asia, an approach aimed at reducing CO2 emissions in a significant and sustainable way.
Over the coming days, MEPs will be meeting ministers, parliamentarians, civil society representatives, leaders of international climate organisations and other delegates. In addition, on Sunday 10 December, Parliament will be holding an event at the EU pavilion on reducing methane emissions. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)