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[1/2] European Union flags fly outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, June 5, 2020.REUTERS/Yves Herman//File Photo
BRUSSELS, June 7 (Reuters) – The European Commission and the United Arab Emirates’ presidency of this year’s COP28 climate summit pledged on Wednesday to seek support for a global goal to expand renewable energy, which they said would help countries unabated fossil fuel consumption. Fuel steering.
A statement reached after a meeting of officials in Brussels said the two sides would work to “ensure maximum support for the global goal of tripling renewable energy growth and doubling energy efficiency by 2030”.
“These targets will support the transition to an energy system free of unabated fossil fuel use.”
Unabated fossil fuels are those that do not use technology to capture the carbon dioxide emissions produced by burning them.
The EU and the COP28 host, the UAE, will also work together to establish a fund to address the irreparable damage climate change is causing to fragile states, they said. Countries agreed to launch the fund last year but have yet to negotiate how it will work and how it will be financed.
At last year’s COP27 United Nations climate summit, countries failed to reach an agreement on gradually reducing the consumption of fossil fuels that contribute to climate change.
An Indian proposal has the support of more than 80 governments, but is opposed by Saudi Arabia and other countries rich in oil and gas resources.
Some countries, including EU member states, want to revive the proposal ahead of this year’s UN climate summit in Dubai on Nov. 30.
But countries have clashed over wording.
The UAE’s incoming COP28 chair, Sultan al-Jabir – who also heads the country’s national oil company – last month urged countries to focus on “phasing out fossil fuel emissions”.
This could allow countries to continue using fossil fuels while using technology to capture their emissions.
Other countries want clear commitments to phase out the use of oil, gas and coal.
“We must end the age of fossil fuels and phase them out,” the Netherlands, Chile, New Zealand and climate-fragile island nations including the Marshall Islands said in a statement. joint letter last month.
Reporting by Kate Arnett; Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten, Sharon Singleton and Barbara Lewis
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