EU to support continued global climate action and push for ambitious finance and investment goals at COP29

At the COP29 UN Climate Change Conference on 11-22 November in Azerbaijan, the European Union will work with international partners to deliver on the goals of the Paris Agreement of limiting global average temperature rise to as close as possible to 1.5C. Climate change continues to be an issue which knows no borders, and increasingly harms lives and livelihoods across Europe and around the world.

Commissioner for Climate Action, Wopke Hoekstra, will again lead the EU negotiating team at COP29, working closely with the Council Presidency and member states to deliver on the EU’s negotiating mandate adopted last month.

At COP29, the Parties to the Paris Agreement must ensure that global financial flows are increasingly aligned with the Paris Agreement, unlocking investments, through the adoption of a New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on Climate Finance. The EU is currently the largest provider of international climate finance, contributing €28.6 billion in public climate finance in 2023 and mobilizing an additional amount of €7.2bn of private finance to support developing countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Besides the NCQG as the main priority of this year’s negotiations, another important element will be to reconfirm the global energy goals agreed last year in Dubai to transition away from fossil fuels, triple renewable energy investments, and double energy efficiency measures by 2030. EU negotiators will work to set ambitious expectations for the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to be submitted by all Parties next year. In addition, the EU negotiating team will also be working to conclude the negotiations on international carbon markets under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson (pictured) will attend on 14-15 November, focusing on the implementation of the commitment to transition away from fossil fuels, our work to reduce methane emissions, and the development of clean technologies. Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Iliana Ivanova, will also participate on 12 November to attend a high-level event on ‘The Future of Net Zero Competitiveness’.

A press release, with further details, is available here.

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