Energy News
ENERGY NEWS
EU strives for common position ahead of COP28
EU strives for common position ahead of COP28
By Julien GIRAULT
Luxembourg (AFP) Oct 16, 2023

EU environment ministers meeting in Luxembourg on Monday were working on setting a common position for the bloc on fossil fuels and carbon-capture tech ahead of the COP28.

Brussels is looking for tripling the amount of global renewable energy used by the end of this decade and doubling energy efficiency in line with the goals of the COP28 presidency.

The 27 EU countries have already set for themselves a horizon of 2050 to abolish "unabated" fossil fuels -- meaning those reliant on coal, oil and gas that do not have mechanisms to capture or store carbon.

That issue is expected to be bitterly fought over at the UN climate conference in Dubai, and is already the subject of strained debate between EU countries.

The negotiating mandate has to be unanimously adopted and will be the one the European Union will throw its weight behind when officials and leaders gather in Dubai from late November to mid-December for COP28.

Some European governments want the "unabated" label withdrawn or have strict conditions attached to the use of carbon capture technology, to prevent them being used to as justification for continued fossil-fuel burning.

"There's no alternative for driving down emissions across the board," the newly appointed EU commissioner for climate matters, Wopke Hoekstra, said.

"However some sectors are extremely hard to abate" and thus carbon-capture technology was needed "as part of the total solution space," he said.

France's energy transition minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher called such tech "of interest" but added that they should be reserved for sectors that were unable otherwise to decarbonise.

"The goal is to have a strong mandate where one has a strong opening negotiating position to obtain concrete results to reduce emissions in the oil sector, on coal, on financing," she said.

Spain's ecological transition minister Teresa Ribera, whose country was chairing the Luxembourg meeting, said carbon-capture technologies should be linked "to some sectors" only.

- 'Complicated' on fossil fuels -

Hoekstra said a global commitment to eliminating fossil fuels entirely would be "very complicated" as there is "a lot of tension" in a number of regions.

And, when it comes to an accord to be taken up by UN member countries, "it takes 192 to tango," he said.

Another topic the Europeans need to work through is whether their headline number for a reduction in the bloc's greenhouse gases by 2030 is 55 percent, compared to a 1990 baseline, or the 57 percent that it will de facto strive for under policies already adopted.

"If it comes to our legal obligation, it's quite clear that it frames on 55 percent," said European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic.

"But from our internal analysis, we know that we most probably are going to overachieve that, so we are looking at most probably 57 percent delivery. So I think that it would be good announcement for COP28," he said.

That would reinforce Europe's ambition to be a global leader on combating climate change, he and other officials said.

The 27 countries are also debating a possible timeline for ending subventions for fossil fuels in the world, again with divergent positions within the bloc.

And the ministers were to discuss setting up a "loss and damage" fund evoked in COP27 that is meant to compensate poorer countries as they shifted to greener energy production and use.

Hoekstra, in his confirmation hearings in the European Parliament in early October, had called for that fund to be financed from new mechanisms, such as international taxes on jet fuel or on sea transport, or from the carbon trading market.

Related Links

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
ENERGY NEWS
UK climate shift makes its harder to reach net zero: IMF
Marrakesh, Morocco (AFP) Oct 13, 2023
Britain's climate policy shift will make it harder for the country to achieve its net-zero emissions target, an International Monetary Fund official said Friday. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced last month that a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars would be delayed from 2030 to 2035. He also lowered the proportion of households that will be required to replace their gas boilers with a low-carbon alternative. And he scrapped a plan to make landlords improve the energy effici ... read more

ENERGY NEWS
EU strives for common position ahead of COP28

IEA: World must add 50,000 miles of power lines by 2040 to hit climate targets

EU states strike deal on electricity market reform

UK climate shift makes its harder to reach net zero: IMF

ENERGY NEWS
Revolutionizing energy storage: Metal nanoclusters for stable lithium-sulfur batteries

A cheaper, safer alternative to lithium-ion batteries: Aqueous rechargeable batteries

Remaking an old Swedish oil depot into a giant underground 'thermos'

Sustainable living technology

ENERGY NEWS
Floating offshore wind could bring billions in value to the west coast, report shows

NREL analysis identifies drivers of offshore wind development

Samis block Norway govt offices over illegal wind farms

Greta Thunberg protests illegal wind turbines in Norway

ENERGY NEWS
Historic agreement unites diverse stakeholders to revolutionize large-scale U.S. solar development

World may have crossed solar power 'tipping point'

Focus on perovskite emitters in blue light-emitting diodes

Cost effective perovskite cells with a structured anti-reflective layer

ENERGY NEWS
Electrons are quick-change artists in molten salts, chemists show

Framatome Space: A New Player in Space Exploration and Nuclear Power

France insists on nuclear for 'green' hydrogen

Russia signals interest in building Mali nuclear power

ENERGY NEWS
Cow manure to synthetic gas: How can we optimize the process?

Lightning strike hits UK biogas facility

Aston University research pioneers making renewable hydrogen and propane fuel gases from glycerol

Is there more to palm oil than deforestation?

ENERGY NEWS
New catalyst could provide liquid hydrogen fuel of the future

U.S. eases sanctions on Venezuela after election deal reached with opposition

Putin praises 'unprecedented' energy ties with China

MIT design would harness 40 percent of the sun's heat to produce clean hydrogen fuel

ENERGY NEWS
At IMF-World Bank talks, small steps in climate finance

Climate 'countdown clock' report launched ahead of key UN talks

UK govt's climate advisers issue warning over net-zero shift

Greta Thunberg fined again for Sweden port protest

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.