European Union united ahead of international climate conference: countries agree on common approach

European Union countries adopted a common position on Monday for the UN’s COP28 international climate conference. However, the position on the EU’s target for reducing emissions from fossil fuels was ultimately softened, as no agreement could be reached.

EU environment ministers met in Luxembourg to agree on a unified EU position for the annual COP summit, which will take place in Dubai this year. As reported by Euractiv, the targets in the proposed document ultimately had to be softened. The result is a document calling for the global energy sector to become “predominantly fossil-free” by 2050 and to move towards “fully or predominantly decarbonised energy in 2030”.

The European Commission and its presiding country, Spain, initially pushed for a stricter approach to emissions reductions. They said updated EU legislation would increase the bloc’s climate target from a 55% net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 to a 57% reduction, and that this should also be reflected in the COP position. Ultimately, however, the bloc had to yield to pressure, primarily from countries in the eastern part of the EU, which face greater challenges in decarbonising their economies because of their greater dependence on coal.

“Texts adopted unanimously always take a little longer to agree on. European countries differ quite a lot when it comes to energy; some are still highly dependent on coal,” explained a source from the office of French Minister for Energy Transition Agnès Pannier-Runacher.

Member states will go to COP28 emphasising the importance of raising global ambition to keep warming within the 1.5 °C limit, according to a statement released after the meeting. The EU will not announce a new emissions reduction target, but will update its commitment to reflect the EU’s Fit for 55 legislative package, adopted to meet the 2030 climate targets.

The European Union’s position on COP28 also includes a call for emissions to peak this decade and for the use of fossil fuels to be phased out.

COP28 will take place this year in the United Arab Emirates. The country’s industry minister, who also heads the state-owned oil company ADNOC, is the conference president. Many interest groups consider this a major conflict of interest.