On Wednesday, 20 November, the European Union released its first biennial transparency report (BTR) at COP29 in Baku (Azerbaijan) before the deadline, which was set for the end of the year.
As parties at the United Nations Climate Change Conference reacted to the new amount of aid on the table to help vulnerable and developing countries finance projects enabling them to cope with climate change (see other news), BTRs were not the main topic of discussion.
Nonetheless, these reports are an important part of implementing the Paris Agreement, as they strengthen transparency and accountability for climate ambition. They thus involve not only reporting the progress made towards achieving the 2030 climate goals but also strengthening the new ‘nationally determined contributions’ (NDCs) that are expected for 2025 (see EUROPE 13529/10).
The European Union’s NDC will be based on its 2040 climate goal, with a target of a 90% reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions compared with 1990 (see EUROPE 13344/1). This goal, which has been included in the biennial transparency report, still has to be discussed before it can be enshrined in the European Climate Law.
The report also notes that in 2023, there was an additional 8% reduction in the EU’s net greenhouse gas emissions since 1990. According to the BTR, this reduction was 31.8% in 2022 – a performance that could represent a total reduction of 37% since 1990.
[The report] also takes stock of the support the EU has given developing countries: in 2023, the EU contributed €28.6 billion to public funding earmarked for combating climate change. It moreover explains the EU’s climate policies, such as the Emissions Trading System (ETS) and the European Climate Risk Assessment, in readiness for an EU adaptation strategy.
According to Director-General for Climate Action Kurt Vandenberghe at the European Commission, the publication of the EU’s first biennial transparency report “builds trust and enables us to act together with greater determination and urgency”.
Access the report: https://aeur.eu/f/eg7 (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)