The UNFCCC’s 27th conference of the parties also called COP27, will take place from 7-18 November 2022, in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. Over the course of the next year, European Greens will be calling for:
- Boosting climate diplomacy while ensuring that climate action is integrated into all bilateral and multilateral meetings and international organisations at the highest level. We must also ensure the participation of young people, most affected people and people coming from the most affected areas
- Negotiating a treaty to phase out fossil fuels. An international Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty is needed to ensure an end to new coal, oil and gas production, while phasing out existing production of and subsidies to fossil fuels in a time frame consistent with limiting global heating to 1.5°C and ensuring a just transition for people in the industry in Europe and beyond.
- Climate-proofing trade. No new trade treaties can be adopted without sufficient sustainability provisions, including that between the EU and Mercosur countries in its current form. Existing agreements that are not fit for purpose – such as the Energy Charter Treaty – must either be renegotiated or abandoned.
- Addressing international transport. The EU and all countries should include emissions from international aviation and shipping (including fisheries) in their NDCs. Europe should take the lead by extending emissions trading to cover all shipping and aviation emissions.
- Increasing international climate finance. Wealthy countries need to deliver and go beyond the USD100 billion of climate finance promised to the Global South and agree on a more ambitious target from 2025 onwards. We must recognise our historic responsibility in heating the climate. Public funding for climate finance must be additional to existing funds for development assistance and mainly grant-based, with sub-goals for mitigation, adaptation, and support to the most vulnerable countries and communities, for example by pushing for fair loss and damage financing for Most Affected People and Areas (MAPAs).
- Ramping up technology cooperation. While the world can and must cut emissions rapidly with existing technologies, innovation can enable deeper emission reductions at a lower cost. Europe must also facilitate technology transfer to those countries most in need. We call for the development of mechanisms to publicly fund the intellectual property rights for key climate solutions.
- Making polluters pay. Carbon pricing – be it in the form of taxes or trading – is an important tool as part of a broader framework to decarbonise our economies. Within the EU, the Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) should be strengthened to ensure polluters pay the real price of carbon, while the revenues should be fully redistributed to the people – ensuring that vulnerable people and communities are not left behind. The revenues generated through carbon pricing should be reallocated to support a green and just transition, and serve to increase international climate finance.
- Protecting climate activists. Civil society organisations and people’s movements, with youth climate activists and indigenous environmental defenders taking the lead, have often been met with harassment, discrimination and abuse. Europe must stand up for the right to speak up for our common climate, including defending the people who defend our climate and protecting the right to challenge decisions.
