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By John
Ainger and Ewa
Krukowska
The next stage of
Europe’s climate transition hangs in the
balance, with ministers meeting
in Brussels today for the last chance to
hash out a deal emissions cuts through 2040 and
to sign off on an updated climate pledge before
the COP30 leaders’ summit starts in Belém later
this week.
A common position
on both the climate goal to cut emissions 90% by
2040 from 1990 levels, and on the UN pledge
would show that the European Union is still a
leader in the fight against global warming, in a
marked contrast to the US under Trump.
Teresa
Ribera Photographer: Simon
Wohlfahrt/Bloomberg
“Pitifully, the
president of the United States doesn’t seem to
care about the future of his own country in
relation to other countries or in relation to
their own capacities to develop leading
positions in new markets,” Teresa Ribera, the
EU’s climate commissioner, said in
an exclusive interview in Sao Paulo.
“Europe needs to be that democratic powerhouse
that ensures clean solutions for today’s
problems.”
The bloc’s broad
consensus on climate has splintered, giving way
to trade protectionism and policies that seek to
counter the impact of rising energy costs.
Support for the 2040 goal requires a qualified
majority of the EU’s 27 member states. Much will
come down to the position of France and Germany,
the bloc’s two biggest economies, but also
smaller member states like Belgium and Greece.
Even with
assurances over support for key industries, such
as steel and cement, a number of EU members are
expected to oppose some of the targets. Europe
is under pressure from parts of the private
sector too after over three dozen chief
executive officers sent a letter last month
to French President Emmanuel Macron and German
Chancellor Friedrich Merz calling for ESG rules
to be abolished.
“If we kill the
tools that allow us to build a different
economy, we will get trapped in the
irrelevance,” Ribera said. “We can simplify
whatever we want if it doesn’t undermine the
possibility to achieve our targets. But we can’t
hide the fact that there may be some willing to
deregulate and go back into darkness.”
Read more on
today’s meeting of European environment
ministers in Brussels and the full story on
our
exclusive interview with European
commissioner Teresa Ribera on Bloomberg.com.
The Turkey
pavilion at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan Photographer:
Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg
Global efforts to
slash emissions are set to pick up significantly
in the years to come.
That’s according to
an
analysis of the G20 countries by London
Stock Exchange Group. The findings, which point
to “a material acceleration in global emission
cuts post 2030,” are based on official
submissions to the United Nations, as well as
public announcements from government officials.
“It’s not all doom
and gloom,” said Jaakko Kooroshy, LSEG’s global
head of sustainable-investment research. The
implied emissions cuts amount to “material
progress, even though we remain off track for
below 2C,” he said. LSEG’s analysis indicates an
additional reduction in greenhouse gas pollution
of as much as 18% over five years, compared with
existing 2030 targets.
Only 64 countries,
representing about a third of global emissions,
submitted Nationally Determined Contributions
(NDCs) by the Sept. 30 deadline. LSEG said while
the UN’s NDC report only includes countries that
submitted reports through the end of September,
its own analysis also comprises announcements
from October, which it says has “shifted the
landscape.” Faster emissions reductions are
mainly tied to progress made in China and
Turkey, LSEG said.
Read the full
story on Bloomberg.com
Projects combining
private and public capital to cut
emissions or adapt to climate change have
stalled at a dangerously low level, according to
a fresh report.
European Union carbon
futures rose through a key technical
level of €80 on
Monday, after Germany announced new
support for energy-intensive industries that is
expected to lift emissions.
Photographer:
Amanda Kolson Hurley
Bloomberg Green
editor Amanda Kolson Hurley found some time
on Monday to visit the Sao Paulo Museum of Art.
The museum is currently hosting a Histories
of Ecology exhibition that examines
the relations between humans and the environment
in the context of the climate crisis.
Though it may sound
inspired by COP30, the museum says it’s “not a
direct response to the conference but rather
proposes a broader perspective” that expands
what ecology means. Even if you don’t have time
for the exhibit, swinging by to check out the
iconic building designed by Brazilian
architect Lina Bo Bardi is worth a trip.
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