In the final document of the EU Council’s conclusions on the preparation of COP30, obtained by Agence Europe, the Danish Presidency of the Council has outlined a final text that it considers to be “balanced”, with a view to adoption at the Environment Council on 21 October.
Once adopted, this text and the position papers to be drawn up by the Working Party on International Environmental Issues (WPIEI) will form the basis of the EU’s negotiating position at the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) in Bélem (Brazil), which opens on 10 November.
Compared with previous versions, the document, dated 13 October, notably adjusts the reference to carbon pricing instruments, stressing the importance of these instruments as “‘among’ the most efficient and cost-effective way[s] to reduce emissions”.
With regard to energy transition, the text has been brought more into line with the terms used in the Council conclusions on COP29 in 2024 (see EUROPE 13504/14). In particular, it reiterates the call to the parties to the Paris Agreement to contribute to global efforts to accelerate the development of zero-emission and low-emission technologies, while respecting each country’s energy mix.
The new document has also introduced paragraphs on climate finance to take account of the conclusions adopted by European finance ministers on 10 October (see EUROPE 13729/10).
Before being adopted at ministerial level on 21 October, the conclusions must be validated by the Member States’ ambassadors to the EU (Coreper I) at their meeting on Wednesday 15 October.
Call for “major emitters” to strengthen their climate targets for 2035. The text also calls on all Parties to the Paris Agreement, “in particular the major emitters”, who have submitted ‘Nationally Determined Contributions’ (NDCs) for 2035 that are not in line with the 1.5°C target, to “rapidly update and strengthen their NDC targets”.
This echoes the recent comments by the European Commissioner for Climate Change, Wopke Hoekstra, who said that China’s NDC (reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 7 to 10% by 2035 compared to the future peak in these emissions) was “well below” the hoped-for targets (see EUROPE 13721/10).
The Commissioner is currently in Brasilia as part of the preparatory meetings for COP30 (pre-COP) to emphasise, in particular, the European Union’s leadership in the global fight against climate change.
However, the EU did not meet the September deadline for submitting its final NDC, due to differences over the 2040 target, which should enable the 2035 target to be calculated. However, it intends to present its NDC before the start of the COP (see other news). In the meantime, the EU Member States have agreed on an indicative emissions reduction range of between 66.25% and 72.5% by 2035 (compared with 1990) (see EUROPE 13712/2).
Link to the draft conclusions: https://aeur.eu/f/iyd (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)