On Friday 6 February in Nicosia, the European Environment Ministers discussed how the EU can strengthen its effectiveness and influence in international climate negotiations, in the light of the lessons learned from COP30.
COP30 is the 30th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), held in Belém, Brazil, to negotiate international decisions on climate (see EUROPE 13761/12).
“The experience of COP30 clearly showed that ambition alone is no longer enough”, said Maria Panayiotou, host of the informal meeting of ministers.
In an increasingly fragmented and unpredictable geopolitical context, the European Union must be able to turn its ambitions into tangible results, according to the Minister. The climate crisis knows no borders: significant results can only be achieved by making progress simultaneously on ambition and implementation, in cooperation with third countries.
The discussions enabled the Cyprus Presidency of the EU Council to contribute to the preparation of more concrete EU actions with a view to the forthcoming international climate negotiations, “which will be pursued by our Irish colleagues”, stressed Mrs Panayiotou.
The European Commissioner for Climate Action, Wopke Hoekstra, insisted on the need to better link climate action, competitiveness and strategic independence at European level.
The challenge, in his view, is to make the climate transition a genuine economic argument, strengthening European competitiveness and strategic autonomy.
The Commissioner announced that by the end of the year the Commission will present a European resilience plan aimed at strengthening collective action, while leaving Member States the flexibility they need to respond to their specific realities.
On the international dimension of climate action, he pointed out that Europe is both the continent that is warming most rapidly and a player responsible for around 6% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
“We have no alternative but to also tackle the remaining 94%”, he stressed, highlighting the central role of international climate diplomacy.
While the European Union is one of the most ambitious players when it comes to climate action, and remains the world’s leading donor of climate funding abroad, Wopke Hoekstra regretted that solidarity and reciprocity are not always forthcoming. He called for the effectiveness and impact of European action on the international stage to be strengthened, to the benefit of both global partners and European citizens.
A document from the Cyprus Presidency of the EU Council, seen by Agence Europe, highlights the growing difficulties linked to the geopolitical context, negotiation procedures and the relative isolation of the EU in the final stages of the COPs, despite a high level of climate ambition.
The document calls for a more strategic and multi-annual approach to the COPs, based on better internal coordination, stronger climate diplomacy and coalitions, and more coherent use of the EU’s external instruments (trade, finance, cooperation). The aim is to better translate European ambition into concrete, implementation-oriented results, while preserving the central role of the UNFCCC.
“We need to be more focused and more strategic in order to achieve greater results on the international stage in the fight against climate change and in adaptation efforts”, said Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary at the German Environment Ministry.
Climate resistance. At a working lunch, the Ministers discussed water and climate management issues. A document from the Cyprus Presidency stresses that current responses to the climate crisis remain largely reactive, focusing on managing impacts once they have occurred. While these measures remain necessary, they are no longer sufficient in view of the scale and speed of climate risks, according to the document.
The Cyprus Presidency is calling for a paradigm shift towards proactive climate resilience, based on scientific knowledge, advanced modelling, integrated planning and long-term horizons of up to 50 years. The European Union has major assets (scientific capabilities, observation data, cutting-edge technologies and institutional frameworks - all of which must be systematically mobilised).
Forest fires and water scarcity are presented as two major climate stress factors. These risks, which are increasing sharply on a global scale, are the subject of coordinated, science-based approaches within the framework of the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East Climate Change Initiative (EMME-CCI), led by the Cypriot government. This theme was presented by Professor Costas N. Papanicolas, Founding President of the Cyprus Institute and Scientific Director of EMME-CCI. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)