Debate: UN Climate Change Conference  in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Date: MONDAY, 20 NOVEMBER 2023
Speaker: Wopke HOEKSTRA
Language: EN

In Dubai, parties will have to advance on all elements of the global climate agenda and that means mitigation, adaptation and means of implementation. And this includes climate finance and, of course, loss and damage. Yes, we have seen important progress in the past couple of weeks, and even a breakthrough on the set-up of a fund for loss and damage. And a recent joint statement on climate action from the US and China is another welcome development. In the past six weeks, I’ve also met with a range of counterparts from across the globe. I spoke to some of our closest progressive allies from Africa and from Latin America, and I’ve reached out to major economies like Brazil and China. And in each of these meetings I have stressed the need, the absolute need, to raise climate ambition. I’ve reiterated the EU’s readiness to play its part. And I emphasised that we must let ourselves be guided by science and by facts. We know the direction of travel. We have our plans on how to get there. We simply need to speed up. So let me go briefly into the three areas I mentioned before: mitigation, adaptation and means of implementation. First, on mitigation, this year’s COP28 marks the first global stocktake. And one thing is clear: all countries should take meaningful action to cut emissions, particularly the world’s largest emitters. The EU has been doing just that, following the adoption of nearly all Fit for 55 proposals, we have updated our NDC to provide transparency on how we plan to continue to reduce emissions. And I have noticed in every single meeting that I had these past weeks, what we do at home is the foundation of our climate diplomacy abroad. So I want to thank again this House and the leaders in this House for their work on our climate and energy legislation. Our model shows that full implementation of our policies will bring an emission reduction of around 57% by 2030. And it puts Europe firmly on track to reach climate neutrality by 2050. To say the same about the entire world, we need to peak fossil fuels consumption this decade and phase out unabated fossil fuels well ahead of 2050. And we also need to stop new coal-based power capacity, triple renewable energy and double the rate of energy efficiency by 2030. And frankly speaking, we must quickly decarbonise the global power system. Your resolution points exactly in the same direction. And it is also in line with the global energy pledge that we jointly pursue with the COP28 presidency. Ladies and gentlemen, as the climate crisis intensifies, preparing for its impact will become, unfortunately, more and more important. And our guiding star for adaptation is strengthening resilience while focusing on the lives and livelihoods of particularly those who are in the most vulnerable places of our continent, but frankly speaking, the whole world. And through the global goal on adaptation, we must strengthen adaptation planning, must track progress and mainstream climate resilience into every investment decision. But for all these goals to be achieved, COP28 must also bring progress on aligning all financial flows with the Paris Agreement. Strong commitments, and I say it again, strong commitments to shift funds away from fossil fuels are particularly important. And this can include phasing out fossil fuel subsidies that do not address energy poverty or the just transition, promoting the use of domestic carbon pricing and agreeing international crediting rules that truly help transform financing for climate action. And in this context we have invited different countries to join a call to action for Paris-aligned carbon markets. Solidarity is another key component of our climate finance discussions. The EU will continue to deliver its fair share – and, frankly speaking, more than its fair share – of the 100 billion goal. A new target for after 2025 should be part of global efforts that mobilise a wide variety of sources, both public and private, to meet the goal of the Paris Agreement. Last but certainly not least, I remain committed to enabling the launch of the Loss and Damage Fund at COP28. This needs to happen in a context where we can all feel confident that, in parallel, we will see deep emissions reductions this decade. That is and remains the best way to minimise future loss and damage. The fund is open to contributions from all parties, and this is crucial because I strongly believe that all who do have the ability to pay should indeed do so, and I will continue to push for that in the conversations I’m having. We cannot base this kind of funding simply on an economic division between developed and developing countries. That might have made sense in 1992. Climate action is truly a global responsibility. And climate change is a threat that we all face. So every country – literally every country – must do its utmost to eliminate its emissions and to defend its citizens and its future generations from the impacts of climate change.