Timmermans: EU should push at COP28 for a phase-out of fossil fuels without CCS well before 2050

The European Union should seek to secure a global commitment to gradually phase out fossil fuels without carbon capture well before 2050. It should also multiply the share of renewables and improve energy efficiency in this decade. At an informal meeting of EU climate and energy ministers, European Commission Executive Vice-President and Commissioner for the European Green Deal Frans Timmermans proposed this to member states in a speech.

The UN Climate Change Conference COP28 will be held in Dubai from late November to early December this year. Frans Timmermans described COP28 as crucial to the fight against climate change.

In May 2023, G7 countries agreed to accelerate the phase-out of fossil fuels without carbon capture in order to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest. However, they did not specify a particular year.

According to Timmermans, it is essential to provide investors with long-term certainty. It must be clear that investment in clean technologies and renewables is not a one-off, but a long-term trend. In his speech, Timmermans urged ministers to agree on three key elements that the EU should promote at COP28.

First, the world should triple the annual increase in the share of renewable energy between now and 2030. At the same time, the vast majority of new installed capacity should come from the construction of renewable energy sources. Second, energy efficiency should improve twice as fast in this decade as it does today. Third, the use of fossil fuels without carbon capture should be phased out well before 2050.

CCS technology divides the sector into two camps

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies are the subject of debate in the sector, dividing it into two camps. Supporters argue that carbon should be captured so that fossil fuels can continue to be used. Activists and progressive countries, on the other hand, say this is simply a way for the fossil fuel business to keep operating. This would only prolong the climate crisis.

The definition of fossil fuels used without carbon capture, known in English as “unabated fossil fuels”, is likely to be one of the main topics of debate at COP28 in Dubai. According to Timmermans, the European Commission appears to share the view of the second camp.

“It is important to have a precise understanding of the role of fossil fuels with carbon capture in a climate-neutral economy. These fuels should play only a residual role, and only in sectors that are difficult to decarbonise. These sectors should bear the costs of having to demonstrate that fossil fuels with carbon capture can be used, and will have to propose credible investment strategies for these technologies,” said Frans Timmermans, European Commission Executive Vice-President and Commissioner for the European Green Deal.