The European Union will spare no effort to keep the Paris Agreement commitments and limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. That was the message that Commission President Ursula von der Leyen brought to Dubai on 1-2 December, when she participated in the opening days of the COP28.
During the two days the President participated in a series of events promoting the EU's goals for this year's COP, including increasing renewable energy capacity and energy efficiency, phasing out unabated fossil fuels and fossil fuels subsidies that are not addressed to the just transition, and making sure that global fossil fuel consumption peaks ahead of 2030.
"What we are calling for globally, we also have to deliver domestically", the President said, emphasising that in the European Union we are even on track to overshoot our target for 2030.
At the World Climate Action Summit, President von der Leyen launched the Global Pledge on Renewables and Energy Efficiency, along with the COP28 Presidency and 118 countries.
This Global Pledge sets global targets to triple installed capacity of renewable energy to at least 11 terawatts, and to double the rate of global energy efficiency improvements from roughly 2% to an annual figure of 4%, by 2030.
The Commission President announced that the EU will support this Pledge by investing €2.3 billion for energy transition in the EU's neighbourhood and around the globe. As she said, "every country on Earth deserves clean, affordable and homegrown energy."
Furthermore, the EU will continue to support clean energy projects via Global Gateway, the EU's strategy to promote infrastructure investments around the world.
President von der Leyen also spoke of the importance of developing carbon pricing and carbon markets. She hosted an event attended amongst others by the heads of the World Bank, the WTO, and the IMF.
President von der Leyen stressed that carbon pricing and carbon markets are key instruments towards the energy transition. "The message is very clear: You are polluting; you must pay a price. You want to avoid the payment; then innovate and decarbonise. Carbon pricing nudges the private sector towards innovation," President von der Leyen said at the event.
The President presented the positive effect that carbon pricing has had in the EU, highlighting that in the 18 years since the scheme was introduced, emissions have gone down by 40% while the economy kept growing and while raising €175 billion in revenues.
Aiming at replicating this success elsewhere, President von der Leyen said the Commission is fully committed to continue providing technical support for countries that want to introduce carbon pricing systems.
Furthermore, the EU and several partner countries gave an important step in their energy transition support for Vietnam by endorsing Vietnam's Resource Mobilisation Plan (RMP) under its Just Energy Transition Partnership.
The EU and the UK co-led several countries last year into the Partnership with Vietnam, whose implementation will be possible thanks to the RMP. The Plan identifies priority investment projects and lays out concrete policy actions, like improving the regulatory framework to facilitate public and private investment.
In all, the Just Energy Transition Partnership will allow Vietnam to peak its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 rather than 2035, accelerate the adoption of renewables and limit its peak coal-fired generation capacity.
Another key subject for the President is methane. Indeed, the President announced further €175 million as an EU contribution to reduce methane emissions across the energy sector. Methane is a "super pollutant" with a warming potential 86 times bigger than that of CO2.
Moreover, President von der Leyen participated in high-level events on the Coal Transition Accelerator initiative, on the launch of the Climate Club, and on the Global Stocktake Roundtable on means of implementation.
In the coming days, Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra, leading the EU negotiating team, and several other College Members will be in Dubai to push for the EU's climate ambitions.
