
EU to Push for Ambition in Global Climate Talks but Plan Lacks Detail
October 15, 2024 | Source: Euro News. | by Robert Hodgson
The EU will push to keep “within reach” the objective of limiting global heating to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, environment ministers have agreed just weeks before world leaders are due to gather in the Azeri capital for the COP29 climate summit.
Environmental activists and NGOs warned that the lofty ambitions were not sufficiently backed up with clear deadlines paving the way to phase out fossil fuels, or clear pledges for the necessary funding for alternative sources of energy.
Climate change is an “existential threat to humanity, ecosystems and biodiversity, as well as to peace and security which spares no country, territory or region” they agreed in conclusions to an EU Council summit that finished late on Monday in Luxembourg.
The 1.5-degree limit is an aspirational goal in the landmark Paris Agreement of 2015, in which almost 200 governments agreed concretely not to surpass 2°C. The already intensely felt changes to the climate have focused attention on the more ambitious target – especially in Europe, where temperatures are rising at double the global average.