The EU has taken the lead in global climate action at the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from 30 November to 13 December.
Representatives of nearly 200 countries meeting in Dubai have finally approved an agreement calling for a joint global effort to make fossil fuels "a thing of the past".
The agreement, adopted by consensus in plenary, calls on states to initiate a transition away from fossil fuels "in an orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade, with the aim of achieving the goal of zero net emissions by 2050, in line with science".
The Spanish presidency of the Council of the EU took part in the summit with a clear message of commitment and ambition in the fight against climate change, one of the cross-cutting priorities of the Government of Spain's action.
The Spanish Vice-President and Minister for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, has led the European action unit, represented EU governments in the negotiations and sought consensus with third countries to advance the green transition agenda.
Ribera described the final agreement as a "very important step", while pointing out that "much more needs to be done to ensure climate justice".
At COP28, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel also called for greater global ambition against the climate crisis to reduce CO2 emissions as soon as possible, and mandatorily from 2025 onwards.
COP28 family photo. © UE
"Our ambition: global emissions must peak by 2025. We must phase out fossil fuels and we must reduce methane emissions," Ursula von der Leyen said in her speech.
Charles Michel argued that the world "must get rid of dependence on fossil fuels, which jeopardise our common future, as quickly as possible".
The decline of fossil fuels
In addition to helping COP28 send clear signals towards the decline of fossil fuels, the EU has pushed for a commitment by 130 countries to triple installed renewable capacity and double the pace of energy efficiency improvements in all sectors by 2030.
The EU member states as a whole represent the world's largest renewable energy development and deployment power and account for 93% of global renewable capacity. The intention is to increase renewable capacity from the current 3,500 gigawatts to 11,000 gigawatts.
For more than two weeks and with nearly 100,000 attendees, COP28 has focused its debates on four issues of utmost importance for the future of the planet: the reiteration and revision of the Paris Agreements (reached at the 2015 COP), the objective of limiting global warming to 1.5ºC, the end of fossil fuels and the peak of global CO2 emissions set for 2025.
The funding agenda
The EU's aspiration to increase climate finance at COP28 was highlighted by the Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, who stressed the need for a new financial architecture that facilitates access to funds, while removing obstacles and identifying new sources.
"We need to put climate goals at the heart of economic and fiscal policies, develop robust carbon markets, tackle debt problems and increase the fiscal space for the most vulnerable countries," said Sánchez during his speech at the summit.
Pedro Sánchez and Charles Michel at an event of the International Alliance for Drought Resilience at COP28. © UE
He announced a contribution of 20 million euros for the new loss and damage fund, complementing the 262 million euros announced at the Climate Ambition Summit in New York and the 5 million already approved for the implementation of the Santiago Network.
These funds are essential to support developing countries in the process of adapting to the impacts of climate change.
In this regard, the EU and its member states are the largest contributors and are committed to the target set for developed countries in the Paris Agreement to jointly mobilise $100 billion per year in climate finance until 2025.
