EU Climate Action

Dear readers,

Now that the dust begins to settle, after the intense negotiations in Glasgow, more sober analyses of the new Glasgow Climate Pact begin to pour in. From McKinsey arguing that “the climate commitments launched in Glasgow will reshape the agenda for global business," to Greenpeace recognising that “a signal has been sent that the era of coal is ending.” History will be the Pact’s ultimate judge, but from the EU’s perspective, I am convinced that COP26 was an important step in the right direction, in some areas even a breakthrough, opening precious opportunities for progress in the fight to stop climate change. Seizing these opportunities is by no means guaranteed upfront, and will require close monitoring and significant investments, as well as international cooperation and, where necessary, diplomatic pressure. But, if we look at the entire package that 197 countries agreed on, the glass is more than half full.

At the beginning of the conference, President von der Leyen set out three key priorities: showing more ambition on mitigation, completing the Paris Rulebook and boosting climate finance. On each of these counts, important progress was achieved.

First, on the call for stronger commitments to reduce emissions during this ‘crucial decade’ and to keep global temperature rise to 1.5°C there was considerable movement. From the projected 4 degrees we faced before Paris, and the 2.7 degrees before Glasgow, we have now edged towards two degrees, and even below according to some more optimistic, yet credible observers. Even more important, we managed to secure a credible process to aim at 1.5° C within, e.g. by reaching an agreement on the need to strengthen 2030 reductions plans already by next year. In Glasgow, Paris went into higher gear. And despite the last-minute backsliding on the wording, the text does - for the first time - reference the need to scale down coal-fired power generation and speed up the end of fossil fuel subsidies. It goes without saying that the international community must do far more in this next crucial decade to safeguard our future. The EU will therefore pursue our efforts in climate diplomacy, to bring major emitters on board and increase their ambitions, to ensure that the 1.5 goal becomes a reality. These efforts start now.

Secondly, good news came out of the negotiations on the Paris Rulebook, where agreement was finally reached on Article 6 and the rules of international carbon markets, as well as on the transparency of reporting on greenhouse gas emissions. These developments were six years in the making, and I’m especially proud of the EU’s role in bringing about this result, which will further global cooperation on emission reductions. The importance of this should not be underestimated. It will channel green investments into the race to net zero, in a manner that is environmentally sound.

Finally, and in spite of justified disappointment by developing countries on the slow pace towards the $100 billion goal, COP26 also marked progress on climate finance, notably for adaptation. Not only did developed countries confirm their commitment to reaching the $100 billion goal a year as soon as possible (and the remaining gap is sufficiently small that reaching the goal in 2022, rather than 2023, is a real possibility). They also committed to doubling their collective provision of adaptation finance for 2021-2025, going towards a balance between mitigation and adaptation, as well as on a process for long-term climate finance beyond 2025. In this context, with our contribution of some USD 27 billion in 2020, the EU and its Member States are already the largest provider of climate finance. At the COP, Commission Executive Vice-President Timmermans announced that the EU would contribute, for the first time ever, €100 million to the UN Adaptation Fund. In other words, we do our fair share.

The EU was also very active outside of the negotiations. Our team was busy organising some 160 side events, showcasing how all sectors of European society and industry are engaging with climate action. 1,400 expert speakers and 400 different organisations contributed to our new hybrid platform that allowed for dynamic discussions in Glasgow, Brussels and online, open to all. You can still catch up on all the events by logging on to www.cop26eusideevents.eu. The EU was also instrumental in launching the Global Methane Pledge with the US to cut methane emissions by 30% by 2030; the Just Energy Transition Partnership with South Africa; the €820 million EU Catalyst partnership will Bill Gates and the EIB to accelerate the clean energy transition with funding for innovative technologies, and an EU pledge to spend €1 billion over five years to protect the world's forests.

Our international leverage depends to a large extent on what we do at home, in Europe itself. We therefore must continue to forge ahead with the green transition that was launched by the European Green Deal. You can read about the latest advances we have been making in the most recent Climate Action Progress Report published earlier this month. Our future progress will also depend on our ability to develop innovative projects into real-world low-carbon technology. The Innovation Fund is one important way in which the EU is seeking to accelerate this process. In Glasgow, I was pleased to present the first three grants from the Fund to small-scale projects that will help decarbonise glass production, supply innovative renewable heating for industry and capture CO2 through water. Furthermore, this week we announced the results of the first-large scale call, which will see € 1.1 bn of funding go to seven projects to decarbonise energy-intensive industries and develop renewable energy.

As the past weeks have shown, the urgency of acting on the climate crisis is only growing. We have to make more headway in this decade. I am sure that together we can live up to these expectations.

Mauro Petriccione
Director-General for Climate Action, European Commission

At the end of the COP26 UN Climate Conference, the European Commission supported the consensus reached by over 190 countries after two weeks of intense negotiations. COP26 resulted in the completion of the Paris Agreement rulebook and kept the Paris targets alive, giving us a chance of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

New EU commitments at COP26

• €1 billion in funding for the Global Forests Finance Pledge to protect, restore and sustainably manage forests worldwide;
• Just Energy Transition Partnership with South Africa, which will mobilise an initial commitment of $8.5 billion for the first phase of financing;
• Official launch of the Global Methane Pledge, a joint EU-US initiative which has mobilised over 100 countries to cut their collective methane emissions by at least 30% by 2030, compared to 2020 levels;
• EU-Catalyst partnership with Bill Gates and EIB President Werner Hoyer to boost investments in critical climate technologies;
• New pledge of €100 million in finance for the Climate Adaptation Fund, by far the biggest pledge for the Adaptation Fund made by donors at COP26.