COP29 EU press conference: Opening remarks by EU Commissioner Hoekstra

Thank you, Ladies and gentlemen,

Truly happy to be here for my second COP as EU chief negotiator.  I am intimately familiar with the fact that at the start of the second week, we have the moment where many of you write that we are very far apart as negotiators.

Let’s address the elephant in the room right away: yes, if you look at the geopolitical context that is in the back of everyone’s’ minds, through these negotiations, the context is indeed difficult. But then again when has it ever been easy?

I truly believe that, despite the grim geopolitical context,we can and should have a good result by the end of this week.

Ladies and gentlemen,

While the UNEP Emissions Gap Report says we are not yet on track to keep our 1.5c target, it is also very clear that: technically, at the very least, we can do it.  So, that means and implies that the challenge we face truly is political. And that is the challenge we are here as negotiators.

So, this week, in this venue, let us tone down the background noise and double down on negotiations we have in front of us.  As for the EU role, we will continue to lead. We will continue to build bridges to countries from all over the globe and we will continue to engage. We are a natural bridge builder. It is in our DNA. And we have always come to COPs with high ambition and kept us moving forward towards the Paris Agreement goals.

At COP28, we managed to bring everyone together to really reach ambitious results. I am here, the team is here, with the same energy and exactly the same ambition. It is clearly a steep climb but we are truly ready for it.

Let me also take this opportunity to call on the COP Presidency to start bringing Parties together around more concrete texts, as early as possible this week. There is a clear and heavy responsibility, as always, on the shoulders of the COP Presidency to bring these important but difficult talks to a conclusion.

This is truly a Conference of Parties, and Ministers are ready to work. But we do need a Presidency to lead and to steer us in the direction of a safe landing ground.

Let me briefly turn to the NCQG. We all know it is never easy in politics, and neither is in international politics, to talk about money. But the cost of action today is, as a matter of fact, much lower than the cost of inaction and later on reacting to climate disasters. We all have a role to play.

As I said, we will continue to lead, to do our fair share, and even more than our fair share, as we have always done. Public finance should remain at the core of the NCQG.  But three critical things need to be clear as well:

1. With affluence comes responsibility. Others have a responsibility to contribute based on their emissions and based on their economic growth.
2. The money needs to go first and foremost to these countries most in need, to the most vulnerable amongst us.
3. The reality is that there will never ever be enough public money, from any source. So, what we need to do here in this week, is to have more resources on the table.

We are here to design a system that reflects these realities of our world. Economic and emissions realities. Then on Article 6, one way to drive more private sector contributions is through carbon pricing and carbon markets. That is why we are also negotiating the completion of the Paris Agreement rules governing international carbon markets.  This is a truly, very important workstream and potentially very impactful workstream this week.

Finally, allow me to say a few words on mitigation. It is imperative that we send strong signals this week for the next round of NDCs. And we must follow up on our historic decision in Dubai to truly transition away from fossil fuels. And the announcements by Brazil, the UAE and the UK are very positive and very promising.

In the EU, we are also planning an ambitious NDC, in line with the 1.5C goal. We are on the right track in Europe. The EU reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by over 8% in 2023, which is one of our largest cuts ever. We need and we will continue to keep the pace.

So, Ladies and gentlemen, in conclusion, it is the start of a long week of negotiations. And these things, as we all know, are never easy. But we do have a job to do. So, let’s get it done.