EU committed to spearheading the GLOBAL fiGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE

The European Union (EU) is committed to spearheading the global fight against climate change.

With the United Nations COP28 climate summit set to take off at the end of November in Dubai United Arab Emirates (UAE), the world-first climate ‘loss and damage’ fund is set to be launched.

According to EU Delegation Head of Cooperation in Eswatini Eva-Maria Engdahl leaders aspire to make Europe the first economy worldwide to become climate-neutral by 2050, an economy with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.

She said this objective is at the heart of the so-called European Green Deal and in line with the EU’s commitment to global climate action under the Paris Agreement.

“The EU acknowledges that those most vulnerable and with the least capacity to deal with adverse effects of climate change already bear the costs; therefore, the sources of funding need to be as wide as possible,” she said.

Engdahl said the EU wanted to see a Fund that is up and running as soon as possible, that meets the demands of the most vulnerable.

The Fund should have modalities to benefit, in the first place, those most vulnerable and with the least capacity to deal with impacts, adding that they would continue working towards this objective once the Fund’s Board is established.

“I would like to also highlight the joint Global Pledge initiative facilitated by the COP28 Presidency and the EU, to triple renewable energy capacities and double energy efficiency improvements before the decade is out to work towards a negotiated outcome that reflects these global targets,” said Engdahl.

Since 2009, global EU cooperation for conversation and sustainable use of biodiversity reportedly reached about E20 billion (£1 billion) which Engdahl said had many positive results, like the enhancement of the management of over 500,000 km² of protected areas.

Engdahl said the EU promotes a strategic approach to biodiversity: protected areas with effective law enforcement that are the cornerstone of the conservation of large populations of wildlife, in conjunction with sustainable economic activities to improve communities’ livelihoods.