The EU plans to be carbon neutral by 2050, but to get there it needs to pass two decadal milestones -- each implying massive adaptation by industry and consumers.The EU's European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change in a June report urged a reduction of 90-95 percent for the bloc to stay on its carbon-neutral trajectory.
The European Union's climate chief on Saturday heavily criticised an attempt by OPEC to derail a COP28 deal on phasing out fossil fuels, calling the move by the oil producers' club "unhelpful" and "out of whack". Nearly 200 countries meeting in Dubai for the U.N.'s COP28 climate summit are debating whether to agree, for the first time, to eventually end the world's use of fossil fuels, the main cause of climate change. In an unusual intervention, OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais this week urged countries in the OPEC+ group to reject any COP28 deal targeting fossil fuels, in a letter seen by Reuters.
This year's climate talks should “mark the beginning of the end” of fossil fuels the European Commissioner for Climate Action said on Wednesday as the United Nations summit wrapped up its first week. Wopke Hoekstra told a news conference on the last day of the technical phase of the talks taking place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates that the bloc is seeking a “higher bar” in negotiations. Scientists, activists and U.N. officials repeatedly detailed how the world needs to phase-out the use of coal, oil and natural gas — which are responsible for most of the planet's human-caused warming — but any agreement coming out of COP has to be near unanimous.
The EU will seek a global phase-out of fossil fuels and for their use to reach a peak in this decade, according to the member states' common position adopted unanimously late Monday."(The European) Council stresses that the transition to a climate-neutral economy will require a global phase-out of unabated fossil fuels and a peak in their consumption in this decade", said a statement released after the meeting of EU environment ministers.
(Bloomberg) -- The European Union’s climate commissioner-designate pledged to complete the bloc’s plan to reduce emissions if he’s permanently approved for the post and vowed more ambition globally on environmental issues.Most Read from BloombergWhy a US Recession Is Still Likely — and Coming SoonAirbnb Is Fundamentally Broken, Its CEO Says. He Plans to Fix It.Severe Crash Is Coming for US Office Properties, Survey SaysJPMorgan’s Dimon Predicts 3.5-Day Work Week for Next Generation Thanks to AI
Former Dutch foreign minister Wopke Hoekstra will try to convince European Parliament lawmakers on Monday to approve him as the EU's next head of climate change policy, responsible for emissions-cutting measures in the world's third-biggest economy. Hoekstra faces a three-hour hearing in the European Parliament's environment committee on Monday evening, seeking approval from at least two-thirds of the committee. If approved, he would take on the role as climate action faces political pushback in Europe, and as tensions mount with China and the United States over the race to manufacture green tech.
The European Parliament's environment committee on Monday delayed its decision on whether to accept former Dutch foreign minister Wopke Hoekstra as the EU's next head of climate change policy, the chair of the committee said. "The [committee] coordinators just decided to suspend their final decision on the nomination of the climate designate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra until tomorrow afternoon at 2 pm," EU lawmaker Pascal Canfin said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The EU's top official said Tuesday she would nominate the foreign minister of the Netherlands as the commissioner in charge of climate action to fill the void left by the departure of Frans Timmermans, who resigned last week to run in the Dutch general election. European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen interviewed Wopke Hoekstra, who was named by the Dutch government as its preferred candidate to replace Timmermans.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Friday that the foreign minister of the Netherlands is “the right man” to to fill a European Commission vacancy after Frans Timmermans quit this week to lead a center-left bloc into the country's November general election. Rutte's ruling coalition proposed Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra as the new Dutch representative to the commission after Timmermans, 62, resigned Tuesday as the climate czar and vice president of the European Union's executive arm. Hoekstra told reporters before a Dutch Cabinet meeting Friday that it would be difficult to leave the Ministry of Foreign Affairs while war is raging in Ukraine “but nobody is indispensable.”