EU Declares Commitment to Climate Action at COP 29

The EU commits to climate action at COP 29 (Wikimedia Commons).

Developed countries including members of the European Union (EU) have agreed to raise their climate finance offer from $250 billion to $300 billion on November 23 at COP 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The climate finance proposal aims to aid vulnerable countries in their response to climate change disasters and the transition to renewable energy, which should be paid to developing nations by 2035. The increase comes shortly after Wopke Hoekstra, the EU commissioner for climate action, harshly criticized the draft climate deal for not being ambitious enough to address the threat of climate change at COP 29, an annual climate conference.

The climate draft deal stated on November 21 that developed nations who have contributed the most to greenhouse gas emissions would provide $250 billion in funding in annual climate finance. Hoekstra said that the draft deal failed to address the current needs of the climate situation. "The text as it now stands is clearly unacceptable," Hoekstra said at COP 29. "There's not a single ambitious country who thinks this is nearly good enough." 

Hoekstra’s response to the climate deal comes shortly after the EU received the infamous ‘Fossil of the Day’ award, which recognizes a group of countries or a country that has lacked advancements in climate action and have failed to address the role of inflation. Other recipients of the award include Russia, South Korea, the United States, the G7, and Italy. Hoekstra claimed that the EU’s climate deal is insufficient in addressing climate change as the EU has not spent significantly to mitigate the crisis. Due to the effects of inflation, the EU’s current climate spending target of $200 billion to $300 billion bears little difference to its target 15 years prior. 

Despite that developing nations have rejected the $250 billion draft deal, saying it is too low to address the costs of climate change, an EU negotiator opposed the draft deal’s financial requirement, saying it stands too high and is unachievable. "No one is comfortable with the number, because it's high and (there is) next to nothing on increasing contributor base," the negotiator said. The EU further committed its responsibility to climate action through its Biennial Transparency Report, released on November 21 which will help to hold the global community accountable in its commitment to the Paris Agreement, an international treaty meant to mitigate global warming. 

The Biennial Report reads that the EU plans to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent by 2040, which will aid its goal of reaching climate neutrality by 2050, and has funded developing countries in their response to climate disasters. The report also commits investments in clean energy and an improved emissions trading system. Kurt Vandenberghe, director-general for climate action, said that the Biennial report shows that the EU is effectively battling the impacts of climate change. “Our first Biennial Transparency Report demonstrates that the EU is on track to meet its climate goals and is actively supporting global efforts to combat climate change. Today’s publication is important as it builds trust and enables us to act together with greater determination and urgency,” Vandenberghe said.