The EU has welcomed the "historic" agreement reached at the UN Cop 28 climate conference in Dubai today, including the pledge to triple renewable energy capacity and double energy efficiency by 2030, and the commitment to transition away from fossil fuels.
"It is the beginning of a new era. The post-fossil era. And Europe is at the forefront of it," European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament.
For the EU, its negotiators, together with global partners, have succeeded to "keep alive the possibility" of delivering the Paris Agreement's goal to limit the global average temperature increase ideally to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. And global renewables and energy efficiency targets for 2030 give "powerful momentum" to the transition away from fossil fuels, she said.
"The adopted text does not mention the word phase-out, but it is a phase-out of fossil fuels," said German chair of parliament's delegation Peter Liese. "I expect the stocks of renewables, energy efficiency and nuclear energy to go up."
"The agreement...clearly states that all countries must take action now to curb emissions — not in a distant future," said Swedish centre-left S&D's Helene Fritzon.
