COP

While the EU's Fit-for-55 Package includes many important files, the European Commission postponed legislation on methane a particularly potent greenhouse gas to December 2021. This article summarises the issues at stake and argues that without stringent regulation on this gas, the Fit-for-55 Package will fail to reach climate goals.

Livestock’s share of global greenhouse gas emissions is understated. The climate footprint of the animals and the feed they need is significant. There are ways to change that.

The European Commission is currently approving the national recovery and resilience plans that EU Member States have submitted to benefit from EU grants and loans to build back after the crisis. Despite the obligation to consider gender impacts and the fact that women have been particularly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, most recovery and resilience plans do not sufficiently do so and fail to link efforts towards a green and gender-just society. The European Green Deal and the EU Digital Agenda are important spending priorities, but the risk of a backlash on gender equality is real if they are pursued in a gender-blind manner.

The Covid-19 pandemic has shown that countries can marshal significant resources quickly and at scale in an emergency. The climate crisis requires no less. Only when longstanding issues of climate finance are resolved, can the international system ensure that the poorest and most vulnerable people, communities, and countries can make the necessary changes the whole world needs.

"Build back better" has been Joe Biden’s campaign promise. Climate policy is central to this, both in domestic and foreign policy. Ultimately, it is also a question of whether the Biden government can succeed in regaining lost credibility on the international stage.

12 December 2020 will be the fifth anniversary of the adoption of the Paris Climate Agreement. This analysis provides important materials and pursues the questions: Where do we stand in dealing with the climate crisis? What false solutions must be avoided? And how can we push the urgently needed radical course change in pursuit of climate justice?

MEP Michael Bloss takes stock of the negotiations on the EU Climate Law, and on the performance of the German EU Council Presidency, in the wake of the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement.