From 30 November to 12 December, COP28 will bring together the parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). These include the EU and all EU member states.
The EU will be represented by European Council President Charles Michel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the Spanish presidency of the Council. The EU delegation will be led by the European Commission and the Spanish presidency.
COP28 goals
Infographic – Paris Agreement: the EU’s road to climate neutrality: See full infographic
Every year, the COP meets to determine ambition and responsibilities for climate action, and to identify and assess climate measures.
This year’s conference is hosted by the United Arab Emirates, which holds the COP28 presidency.
The presidency’s plan of action to deliver on the pillars of the Paris Agreement focuses on four areas:
- fast-tracking the energy transition
- fixing climate finance
- putting nature, people, lives and livelihoods at the heart of climate action
- underpinning everything with full inclusivity
The main agenda items for COP28 are expected to be:
- a global stock-take
- the mitigation work programme
- the global goal on adaptation
- climate finance, including financial arrangements for loss and damage
EU position for COP28
The Council agreed on the EU’s position in its conclusions approved on 16 October 2023.
In its conclusions, the Council highlighted the opportunities that ambitious climate action brings for the planet, the global economy and the people, and the importance of ensuring a just transition towards sustainable climate-resilient and climate-neutral economies and societies that leave no-one behind.
The Council stressed that global ambition must increase substantially to keep the 1.5°C objective within reach, and called for:
- collective strengthening of nationally determined contributions (NDCs)
- a global phase-out of unabated fossil fuels and a peak in their consumption in this decade
- a fully or predominantly decarbonised global power system in the 2030s
- a phase-out of fossil fuel subsidies which do not address energy poverty or just transition as soon as possible
- global action towards the tripling of installed renewable energy capacity and the doubling of the rate of improvement in energy efficiency by 2030
- all parties to make greater efforts to integrate climate change adaptation and resilience into existing policies and programmes within all relevant sectors
- all countries to scale up efforts to mobilise finance to support climate action
The EU is also determined to work together with all parties to:
- continue promoting the implementation of the enhanced transparency framework
- foster an inclusive discussion on the future of UNFCCC
- advance the implementation of the Glasgow work programme on action for climate empowerment
- address the gender dimension
- discuss the implementation of climate action in the agricultural and food security
COP28: Council sets out EU position for UN climate summit in Dubai (press release, 24 October 2023)
The role of the Council in international agreements (background information)
On 17 October, the Council also adopted conclusions on climate finance. The conclusions stressed the EU countries’ commitment to mobilise USD 100 billion per year until 2025 to help developing countries deal with the effects of climate change. They expected this goal to be met in 2023 for the first time.
Climate finance: Council approves conclusions ahead of COP 28 (press release, 17 October 2023)
Background
Previous summit
The leaders’ summit at the 27th conference of the parties (COP27) took place in Sharm-El-Sheikh, Egypt on 7-8 December 2022.
See also
Climate change: what the EU is doing (background information)