WIREDGOV

At the COP27 UN Climate Change Conference starting this weekend in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, the Commission will call on all Parties to take urgent action to bring down greenhouse gas emissions and respect the commitments they made under the Paris Agreement and in the Glasgow Climate Pact adopted last year at COP26.

On 7-8 November, President von der Leyen will represent the Commission at the World Leaders' Summit that officially opens COP27. From 14-18 November, Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans will lead the EU negotiating team. Commissioners for Energy, Kadri Simson, Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius, and Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski will also participate at events at COP27.

President von der Leyen will take part in one Leaders Roundtable on Investing in the Future of Energy on day two. She will deliver the EU Joint Statement at a Plenary Session with the President of the European Council. She will also take part in a number of events and sign bilateral declarations with several partners, with a particular focus on forest and climate partnerships and on the clean energy transition.

At COP27, the Commission's negotiating team will push for the implementation of existing commitments to move from ambitious words to concrete actions, including through the adoption of a Mitigation Work Programme to urgently scale up mitigation ambition and implementation in this critical decade. On adaptation to climate change, the EU is committed to achieve clear progress towards the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA). Nature-based solutions, as highlighted in last year's Glasgow Climate Pact, play a crucial role in enabling adaptation to climate change and preserving biodiversity, which will also be a key topic at the Biodiversity COP15 later this year. On the issue of loss and damage, the EU will seek effective solutions to meet the diverse needs of vulnerable countries around the world facing the effects of climate change. The EU backs an official agenda item on averting, minimising and addressing loss and damage to enable Parties to discuss the best way forward to facilitate swift access to finance and scale up support for vulnerable countries and communities. We will work with developed countries to ensure they double financing for adaptation by 2025 compared to 2019 levels, and that they increase climate finance contributions to meet the annual $100 billion target to which the EU contributed €23.04 billion in 2021 – a steady and by far the largest contribution.

Throughout the conference, the Commission will host over 125 side events at the EU Pavilion in Sharm el-Sheikh and online. These events will address a broad range of climate-related issues, such as biodiversity protection and nature restoration, energy security and the green transition, sustainable finance, food and water security, and research and innovation. Given that biodiversity loss and climate change are mutually reinforcing, various events will also highlight the link between COP27 and the upcoming COP15 dedicated to biodiversity.

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