The European Union remains deeply committed to climate action and we will continue to demonstrate leadership in the years ahead, said European Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra during his address at COP29, Olaylar reports.
"We've adopted the full European Green Deal legislation to achieve our 2030 target and, of course, climate neutrality by 2050," Hoekstra said. "We are scaling up our investments in energy efficiency and clean energy, including renewables, hydrogen, and grids".
Highlighting the urgency of collective action, Hoekstra warned against complacency. "We as a global community cannot afford to backslide. We all must build on what we call the UAE consensus. There is simply no success without it," he said.
The commissioner also emphasized the EUchr("39")s role in advancing renewable energy globally, citing the Scaling Up Renewables in Africa initiative launched by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa ahead of the G20 Summit. "To maintain momentum, the EU will invite G20 leaders and others to join forces in a new global energy transition forum. This will bring together governments, international organizations, and financial actors to double down on implementation," he stated.
Looking ahead to COP30, Hoekstra called for nations to prepare more ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). "These must be economy-wide. They must cover all greenhouse gases and align with our 1.5°C temperature goal," he said. "And just to be clear, the bar needs to go up for all of us".
On climate finance, Hoekstra stressed the need for a robust New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG). "It should account for the evolving economic capacities of partners to provide and mobilize climate finance," he noted. He also highlighted progress on carbon market regulations, insisting on the importance of "high integrity, additionality, durability, and accountability".
