At a joint press conference held on Wednesday 20 November in Baku (Azerbaijan), as part of COP29, the Chair of the European Parliament delegation, Lídia Pereira (EPP, Portuguese), and the European Commissioner for Climate Action, Wopke Hoekstra, stressed the importance of clarifying the foundations of climate financing before putting forward concrete figures. The European Union, true to its role as leader, is calling for a global mobilisation to meet the challenges of climate change.
One of the main concerns raised at the press conference was the lack of consensus on the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), the future collective climate finance objective central to this COP.
Asked about a possible European involvement, Wopke Hoekstra said: “We first need to design what elements have to be in place in the overall text (...) in terms of mitigation, but also within the financial domain. (...) It is only once we have established that, that we can have a meaningful conversation about the exact amount”.
Asked about the lack of agreement within the European Union, Wopke Hoekstra said: “We are already very united at home and have all subscribed to the mandate given to the EU Presidency and myself. (...) I don’t think there’s any point in discussing this sort of thing publicly until we’ve established a clear basis for what we should really be putting a figure on”.
This cautious stance reflects the tensions in the negotiations, particularly over the expansion of contributors. The EU defends the idea that economically powerful emerging countries should also contribute to climate financing. “All those who have the ability to do so must rise to the occasion”, added Mr Hoekstra.
On one of the other key points in the negotiations, Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which governs international cooperation mechanisms to reduce emissions, including carbon markets, the European Commissioner said: “Certification, transparency and verification continue to be at the heart that. (...) We need to make sure we create a system that has the integrity to do what we hope it’s going to do in the years going forward”.
The EU is insisting on strict rules to prevent abuse and ensure that the markets are genuinely used to accelerate the energy transition.
Lídia Pereira reiterated that the commitments made at previous COPs, in particular the phasing out of fossil fuels, must be maintained. “If we would backtrack on what was achieved, then it would represent, as well, the failure of last year’s COP”, she said, while welcoming the G20 declaration (see EUROPE 13527/11) as support for the energy transition.
Ms Pereira also argued in favour of mechanisms to ensure that “pollution is costly” and stimulate investment in sustainable solutions. “We have been leading by example in the European Union”, she added.
In response to the concerns of small island developing states, Mr Hoekstra called for targeted support: “We are united in our ambition and we see that they are in no way responsible for the damage that is done, but are on the receiving end of the problem”. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)