Environment ministers of the 27 EU countries have agreed on a joint position for the UN COP28 international climate conference with softened targets for reducing emissions and phasing out fossil fuels.
They supported the goal of tripling global renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency gains by 2030, reports Climate Home News.
COP28 will be held in Dubai, UAE, on November 30.
It says the EU will push for a predominantly fossil-free global energy sector well before 2050 and aim to achieve a fully or mostly decarbonised energy system in the 2030s. The goals had to be softened, because the decision had to be taken unanimously.
The material said that the EU will not adopt a new target for reducing emissions, but the Fit for 55 package envisages a 55% reduction in emissions by 2030.
The eco-community called on politicians to take more serious science-based actions and strengthen their position at the summit.
"The EU must commit to going well beyond its current 55% net emissions reduction target and achieving at least 65% gross or 76% net emissions reductions by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2040 at the latest," – said Sven Harmeling, international climate policy coordinator at the NGO Climate Action Network Europe.
It is noted that the EU's position also includes calls to reach peak emissions this decade and to phase out "irreducible" fossil fuels. This controversial term refers to carbon capture and storage technologies.
The position calls for a phase-out of fossil fuel subsidies. This is a sensitive issue for a number of countries. For example, in Poland, coal provides 70% of electricity needs.
Fossil fuel subsidies that do not address energy poverty or a just transition should be phased out as soon as possible, according to Spain's Minister for Environmental Transition, Teresa Ribera.
The article emphasized that the European Parliament criticized the position of European Commissioner for Climate Affairs Wopke Hoekstra for too soft climate goals.
"The fossil industry will use this loophole to continue burning coal, oil and gas without regard for climate protection. But climate protection is only possible without fossil energy," said German lawmaker Michael Bloss.
Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that the International Energy Agency called on rich and developing countries to dramatically strengthen emission reduction targets, to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
As EcoPolitic previously reported, the president of the upcoming COP28 climate summit, Sultan Al Jaber, said that the world is losing the race to achieve its climate change goals.
