EU climate ministers meeting to determine the bloc's negotiating position for the upcoming Cop28 summit have agreed to push for a world-first phaseout of “unabated” fossil fuels, adding that their use must peak this decade.
The common position was adopted unanimously late Monday following marathon talks in Luxembourg that were marked by deep divisions between EU states.
The EU has positioned itself as one of the most ambitious negotiators at the UN climate talks, where nearly 200 countries seek to strengthen efforts to rein in climate change.
But ministers clashed over the inclusion of the word “unabated” in the negotiating mandate for the bloc’s newly appointed climate commissioner, Wopke Hoekstra, who will present the EU’s position at Cop28, which starts in November in Dubai.
'Fairytale solution'
Emissions created by so-called “abated" fossil fuels – oil, gas and coal – are partly offset by carbon capture and storage technologies, or CCS.
But there is no clear international definition of what abatement actually means, and critics argue that CCS technologies are ineffective on a large scale and are therefore tantamount to greenwashing.
“Given the speed and scale at which we need to reduce emissions, CCS is a fairytale solution,” Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate told Hoekstra, who once worked for the oil giant Shell, in an online discussion ahead of the ministers’ meeting.
“Fossil fuels are killing people and they will continue to kill people whether there is some sort of abatement or not.”
Oil- and gas-producing countries have sought to develop CCS technologies rather than reduce their use of fossil fuels, even though they are the main driver of climate change.
CCS battleground
France has been pushing for the EU to clarify its stance on CCS to ensure the technnology is not used to delay efforts to phase out fossil fuels directly.
To date the world has never agreed to gradually stop burning all carbon-emitting fossil fuels. Agreeing on a definition for “unabated” fossil fuels and a role for CCS will likely be one of the major battles in Dubai.
"By 2050, there should be no fossil fuel without an abatement system in place," Spanish Climate Minister Teresa Ribera told a press conference after the meeting.
Renewables push
While the word “unabated” was included in the EU’s final position when referring to the elimination of fossil fuels, it was removed from references to energy production.
Instead, the bloc advocated the “importance of having an energy sector predominantly free of fossil fuels well before 2050" because cost-effective, carbon-free energy sources were already available.
Brussels is looking to triple the amount of global renewable energy used by the end of this decade.
"We will be at the forefront of the negotiations to show the EU's strongest commitment to the green transition and encourage our partners to follow our lead,” Ribera said.
