EU Climate Action

From 1 to 12 November, the European Commission will take part in the UN Climate Change Conference, COP26, in Glasgow, UK. On 1-2 November, President von der Leyen will represent the Commission at the World Leaders Summit which officially opens COP26. Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans will lead the EU negotiating team. Commissioner Kadri Simson will also attend COP26, and the EU will host over 150 side events at the EU Pavilion.

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EU at COP26

International action on climate change

COP26-European Union side events

Together with the annual State of the Energy Union Report, the Commission adopted on 26 October three reports on the progress of EU climate policies in 2020: the EU Climate Action Progress Report, the Carbon Market Report and the Fuel Quality Report.

The Commission adopted today its State of the Energy Union Reports for 2021, taking stock of the progress that the EU is making in delivering the clean energy transition, nearly two years after the launch of the European Green Deal. While there are a number of encouraging trends, greater efforts will be required to reach the 2030 goal of cutting net emissions by at least 55% and achieving climate neutrality by 2050.

The Commission has launched the second call for large-scale projects under the Innovation Fund, one of the world's largest programmes for the demonstration of innovative low-carbon technologies, financed by revenues from the auction of emission allowances from the EU's Emissions Trading System. With a budget of €1.5 billion it will finance breakthrough technologies for renewable energy, energy-intensive industries, energy storage, and carbon capture, use and storage.

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation has announced the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy as the winner of the 2nd Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity. The Covenant was selected from 113 candidates in 48 different countries for its ability to enhance and support climate leadership across 11,000 different cities and local governments worldwide to advance towards a low-carbon economy and society. The award ceremony for the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity will take place on 9th November at the COP26 in Glasgow.

European Commission Executive Vice President Frans Timmermans and Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China Han Zheng held their second High-Level Environment and Climate Dialogue (HECD) on 27 September 2021 and reaffirmed that the HECD will continue to be a key platform to enhance actions and bilateral cooperation on environment and in the fight against climate change.

Let's protect the climate together as a team! We have joined forces with UEFA and a team of football greats using their skills against climate change.

In preparation for the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) the European Union (EU) and the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS) met in an OACPS High-level Dialogue with Partners on 15 September 2021 to discuss common priorities for the Conference.

Ministers from the 42 member countries of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) met in Cairo on the 4th of October for the 2nd UfM Ministerial Conference on environment and climate action. They agreed to work together and strengthen efforts in the Euro-Mediterranean region to tackle its many climate and environmental challenges. At a critical moment for the region ahead of the UNFCCC COP26 in Glasgow in November 2021, ministers stressed the importance of mainstreaming environment and climate action across all sectoral policies.

The Prime Minister of Fiji Mr Frank Bainimarama, the President of the Marshall Islands Mr David Kabua and the Prime Minister of Samoa Ms Fiamē Naomi Mata’afa exchanged views with the Executive Vice-President in a virtual public conference. Representatives from the governments of Timor-Leste, Papua-New Guinea and Bhutan also contributed to the discussion.

The Commission launched on 29 September five EU missions, a new and innovative way to work together and improve the lives of people in Europe and beyond. The Mission Adaptation to Climate Change will help prepare for unavoidable climate impacts and accelerate Europe’s transformation into a climate-resilient continent. The aim is to support at least 150 European regions and communities to move towards climate resilience by 2030.

During COP26, the EU will host more than 150 side events at the EU Pavilion in Glasgow, Brussels and online. These events, organised by a variety of countries and organisations from Europe and around the world, will address a broad range of climate-related issues, such as the energy transition, sustainable finance and research and innovation.

All events will be accessible online on the event platform, which will go live on Sunday afternoon! In addition, you may explore the digital booths and connect with other participants via the networking feature. These following two weeks there will be great opportunities to listen, learn and showcase climate action. Join us!

"The EU budget and NextGenerationEU: fireworks or big bang?" European Commission conference on 8 November 2021 will bring together policy-makers, research organisations, capital market participants and citizens. A technical workshop on measuring climate mainstreaming with Clara de la Torre (Deputy Director-General for Climate Action, European Commission) will be part of the event.

On Wednesday 10 November 2021, CINEA is organising together with DG Climate Action an Info Day to present the second call for large-scale projects under the Innovation Fund. The Innovation Fund is one of the world's largest funding programmes for the demonstration of innovative low-carbon technologies.

On 23 November at 14:30 Clara de la Torre, Mission Manager, will be joined by John Bell (Deputy Mission Manager) and Dirk Beckers (Director of the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency CINEA) to present the concept and implementation mechanisms of the Mission, and explain how the regions can engage in the process. This will be followed by a Questions and Answers session via SLI.DO.

On 12 October, the Directorate General for Climate Action and the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) organised an event to present useful take aways from the Innovation Fund call for small-scale proposals, the revised state aid rules applying to clean tech projects, as well as relevant national aid schemes.

The call is open for projects from all EU Member States, Iceland and Norway until the 3rd of March 2022. With a budget of €1.5 billion, the Innovation Fund will finance breakthrough technologies for renewable energy, energy-intensive industries, energy storage, and carbon capture, use and storage. An Info Day will be organised on 10 November.