COP

The Belem climate summit fell short of the progress needed to keep warming below 1.5°C. The EU’s emissions reduction plans for 2035 also remain insufficient. The EU can begin to address this by developing a clear roadmap to phase out fossil fuels.

The COP30 in Belém unfolded against rising geopolitical tensions, intensifying climate impacts, and deepening divides between high-ambition countries and major fossil-fuel producers. In light of the absence of the US administration and the final outcome that is weakened on key issues such as the fossil fuel phase-out, we asked MEP Bas Eickhout, Co-Chair of the Greens/EFA in the European Parliament and member of the EP delegation to the COP30 UN Climate Summit, how he assesses the Belém Package and what role he sees for the European Union in future climate diplomacy.

At COP30, Europe’s climate leadership is at risk. Recent steps back on the European Green Deal and new offset rules make it harder for the EU to convince others to be more ambitious.

The annual COP (Conference of the Parties) is the highest decision-making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the primary multilateral forum for international climate policy. Here, the 198 signatory states negotiate agreements and assess progress in addressing the climate crisis. We provide an overview of past conferences and the current COP.

Brazil is positioning itself as an important player for multilateralism and international law in global crises and geopolitical upheavals. This raises high hopes for COP30 in November under the Brazilian presidency – but the challenges are also immense.

How will the EU contribute to global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions during the 2030s? The EU should have come up with a plan already last year if it had followed its own Climate Law and if was to fulfil its duties as a signing party of the Paris Climate Agreement. Now, after much delay, the European Commission has finally presented its legislative proposal for a new 2040 climate target. But is it enough?

Climate and species protection is indispensable – and costs money. Germany must not shirk its responsibilities in these areas by invoking the debt brake. Sources of financing are available – the next federal government should use them.

The COP negotiations in Baku brought together global leaders, activists, and stakeholders amidst a tense geopolitical climate. With the influence of authoritarian leaders, ongoing debates over climate finance, and the presence of civil society under challenging conditions, the outcomes of this year’s talks were far from predictable. MEP Lena Schilling reflects on the key dynamics that shaped the negotiations and offers insights into the path forward for international climate action.

COP29 was expected to deliver a global goal for climate finance that meets the challenges of the future. It failed to do so. Instead, it launched international carbon markets that create new loopholes for fossil fuel emitters.

The annual COP (Conference of the Parties) is the highest decision-making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the primary multilateral forum for international climate policy. Here, the 198 signatory states negotiate agreements and assess progress in addressing the climate crisis. We provide an overview of past conferences and the current COP.

Azerbaijan has strengthened its energy ties with the EU since 2022, ramping up gas deliveries and articulating ambitions to export renewable energy and green hydrogen to Europe in the future. However, the EU’s shrinking gas demand and Azerbaijan’s lack of a genuine decarbonization strategy cast uncertainty on the long-term prospects of this partnership.

As we approach the US presidential election, it's clear that its implications will extend far beyond American borders, resonating profoundly within Europe. This election represents a critical juncture for Europe’s political and economic landscape, especially concerning the future of Ukraine and the broader European security order.

Britain’s right-wing news outlets have sown doubt on the viability of net zero, and the government has pushed back targets and issued new licences for North Sea exploration. Hazel Healy explains how a group of influential think tanks whose donors and board members profit from fossil fuels have systematically undermined climate science and renewable technologies. Their connections to No 10 enable them to sway the Prime Minister and his ministers.

COP28 is being held under the banner of the urgently needed global energy transition: More and more governments and international civil society are calling for a global agreement on a rapid, comprehensive and just phase-out of all fossil fuels - coal, oil and gas. At the same time, there is a great risk that carbon capture and storage (CCS) and other risky technologies and carbon offsetting mechanisms will be promoted at COP28 in order to delay and water down the fossil fuel phase-out. This dossier contains analyses and comments on the most important negotiating points.

Though many authors write that captured CO2 can and is being safely buried deep underground in geologic formations or depleted oil and gas reservoirs, most articles fail to mention that the overwhelmingly single biggest use of all captured CO2 is to directly produce more oil.

From 6 to 18 November 2022, the 27th UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) will take place in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. This COP puts a focus on the support of the countries of the Global South by the richer industrialised countries, which are responsible for most of the greenhouse gas emissions. The poorer countries are demanding financial compensation for the massive losses and damage already caused by the climate crisis. Meeting the Paris 1.5 degree limit requires a rapid phase-out of coal, oil and gas, not empty "net zero" promises that rely on risky technologies or compensation mechanisms. Moreover, COP27 comes against the backdrop of the human rights crisis and the repression of civil society in Egypt.

Africa will host international climate talks on 6-18 November 2022 and the African Union has been busy trying to get the rest of the world’s attention on the continent's expectations in the lead up to COP27. Of course, COP27 expectations are matched only by their disappointments. However, Africans are not leaving the fate of its people to chance.

The concept of “just transition” has so far arrived in Eastern and Southeastern Europe only as a fragment of nice environmental jargon. There is a lack of protagonists strong enough to create conditions for a more powerful social and political impact. In order to act within ecological limits and remain below a warming of 1.5° Celsius, we must also consume less. Until now, consumption, like growth, has been equated with well-being and prosperity.

The aggravating climate crisis has made the implementation of the Paris Agreement a central issue in German and European foreign policy. Nevertheless, the integration of climate and foreign policy is still fraught with uncertainties, both in its geostrategic and in its operational dimension. The 22nd Foreign Policy Conference of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung will focus on current debates at the intersection of foreign and climate policy and assess the prospects for a new carbon-neutral foreign policy.

Finance for Loss and Damage was a critical issue in the lead up to and at COP26. While the outcome in the Glasgow Climate Pact was underwhelming—a push by developing countries to establish a Glasgow Loss and Damage Facility could not overcome developed countries’ strong resistance—the momentum gained on this issue, if not derailed, can lead to more success at COP27 in Egypt.