New York City, 24 September 2024
Opening speech by President von der Leyen with Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau on carbon pricing
“Check against delivery”
Dear Justin,
It is a pleasure to host this event with you today. I am glad that we are joining forces to give carbon pricing the push it deserves, and to discuss with industry how climate ambition and industrial innovation go hand in hand. Because, only with industry can we build a prosperous future on a liveable planet.
This is what we do in Europe. In the past year, we engaged in a series of Clean Transition Roundtables. We discussed how decarbonisation and competitiveness can go hand in hand. Based on this dialogue, I will put forward a new Clean Industrial Deal to complement the European Green Deal. Such a ‘Clean Transition Dialogue’ is also needed at global level. So, I want to thank the CEOs from different continents for joining us today. I want to focus on one topic in particular: carbon pricing. How it works in Europe, why it should be part of our global agenda, and how we can further extend it to ‘nature credits’.
By now, carbon pricing is well-established in Europe. It is almost 20 years since we first put a price on carbon with the ETS: Since then, we reduced emissions in the sectors it covers by almost 50% while our economy kept growing. We could prove that carbon pricing is a market-based instrument that works to decrease emissions and increase GDP.
Second: carbon pricing also generates revenues. Over EUR 200 billion were generated since we introduced the ETS. 100% of these revenues are invested in the clean transition. With our EU Innovation Fund or the European Hydrogen Bank, we invest in ground-breaking clean technologies, for example, carbon capture and use of CO2 but also in renewables and low-carbon fuels. National governments can spend their revenues on the same goals, or they can use the revenues to support citizens to adapt to the clean transition. So, carbon pricing transforms pollution into innovation. It sends a clear message to the business world: If you pollute, you pay. But if you innovate, it pays off. And through our Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, we ensure that if you innovate, you can also compete on a level playing field. So, we prevent carbon leakage from Europe, and encourage cleaner industrial production globally.
This brings me to my second point: the global dimension. If more countries put a price on carbon, we could cut more emissions worldwide, and generate more revenues for the clean transition. That is why the EU has joined Canada’s Global Carbon Pricing Challenge. We are assisting countries who want to develop carbon pricing. We are working in a spirit of partnership with other countries. This all builds on 35 new agreements on clean tech, hydrogen and critical raw materials that we concluded in the past five years.
My final point: what works for climate should also work for nature. For generations, humanity has only rewarded the plundering of our natural environment. You can get rich by taking fossil fuels out of the ground – but you will certainly not get rich by putting carbon back into the ground. You can make good money by razing a forest to the ground, but not by planting a new one and letting it grow old. We should reward actors who provide ‘ecosystem services’ and create a market for restoring our planet.
With the right standards, and the active engagement of our companies, it can work. So whether you call it ‘carbon credits’ or ‘nature credits’, it is time to put a price on pollution, to put a premium on innovation and nature restoration, and scale up this rising market. Let us work together with new business models, that are good for the planet and for our prosperity.
Thank you.
Source – EU Commission
Opening speech by President von der Leyen at the Global Renewables Summit
Dear Michael,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It all started with an idea in March 2023. It was the idea, or rather the vision, together with the International Energy Agency, of a global movement that would help us stay within 1.5 degrees Celsius and push the clean energy transition forward. So we proposed global targets to triple renewables, and double energy savings by 2030. Quantifiable targets, because only what gets measured gets done. At COP28, the world rallied behind this goal, thanks to a coalition of 135 countries and thanks to the leadership of a core group of motivated partners. I am happy to see many of them here today, dear Sultan Al Jaber as COP28 President, dear President Ruto and dear Prime Minister Mottley. Together, we succeeded in turning the idea into a common goal. It was one of these rare moments when the world felt united as one. It has even been called ‘the beginning of the end’ of the fossil fuel era. Today, we must keep this spirit alive, the spirit of COP28. For this, we must double down on implementation, collectively, to reach these targets.
I see four areas of action. The first is planning. Governments should now integrate our global ambition in their national climate policies, showing how they intend to contribute to the global targets in the current decade. This is what we are doing in Europe. We raised our renewable energy target for 2030 to more than 42% of our mix. And we are getting there. In the first half of this year, 50% of all our electricity generation came from renewables. But we also know that the work is far from done.
This leads me to my second point: Improving the business environment. We must create the right incentives and conditions for clean energy tech to thrive. We all know what is needed, in Europe and globally. First, a solid regulatory framework, so that investments are safe and secure. Second, state of the art infrastructure, and faster permitting procedures. Third lead markets that create demand for sustainable products, services and technologies. And finally, the right skills to match the demand. We must work on all these priorities at once. This is what I have set to do with my new Commission 2024-2029, and we are ready to work on this with our international partners.
My third point is on access and supply of critical raw materials. Working towards our targets will increase the demand for these minerals and we must make sure that sourcing and mining are done in a way that benefits all. This is why the Secretary-General’s Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals has my full support. As co-chairs of the panels, we will continue working for robust supply chains, that are transparent and fair throughout.
My final point is on investments. The clean energy transition requires massive investments, everywhere in the world. This is especially true of countries and regions where there is a lack of affordable capital and where costs are so high that it is an obstacle to electrification. Public finance will play a critical role in pushing the clean energy transition forward. Europe will keep doing its fair share.
In 2022, with our Global Gateway investment strategy, Team Europe mobilised EUR 28 billion in public funding to support emerging countries in reducing emissions and adapt to climate change. We do not only provide grants. We also use European public funds to de-risk investments and have a multiplier effect. But it is clear that public funding will not be enough to achieve our global goals. We need to start aligning all global financial flows with the Paris Agreement goals and this means mobilising private capital too. We can help with that. Because when we, as governments or international organisations, set global targets for renewables, we set the future course for businesses as well. When we develop de-risking instruments, we strengthen the business case for clean investments. And when we give public support to breakthrough innovation, we facilitate their uptake in the market. I am sure that representatives of the private sector are also ready to embark on this journey. So this is my call. Let us gear up towards COP29. It will be the place and time to showcase new projects that support our targets. Let us fill the Global Pledges with life.
Thank you.
Source – EU Commission