For climate action, look to Brussels, not Dubai

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While the world’s attention is focused on the COP28 international climate summit in Dubai, the European Union has been quietly leading from behind in Brussels when it comes to climate action.

COP28 damper. “Disappointing”, “insufficient” and “unacceptable”. The draft compromise text put forward on Monday (11 December) by the Emirati presidency of COP28 was rejected in the strongest possible terms available in diplomatic jargon by EU representatives.

While it contained “a couple of good things” on renewables and energy efficiency, the draft lacked “specific” elements on phasing out fossil fuels, said Wopke Hoekstra, the EU’s climate chief.

“Scientists are crystal clear about what is needed” to keep global below 1.5°C, he told reporters in Dubai. “And on top of that list is phasing out fossil fuels,” he said.

As COP28 talks entered the endgame, Hoekstra said EU negotiators were ready to “talk as long as necessary” and negotiate for “however long it’s going to take” to bring those elements in the final text. Mario Draghi could not have found better words. Frédéric Simon has the story, with AFP.

The final text, agreed on Wednesday morning (13 December), was disappointing according to early reports, with campaigners pointing to “slightly stronger” language in paragraph 28 (d) referring to: “transitioning away from fossil fuels in our energy systems in a just, orderly and equitable manner to achieve net-zero by 2050 in keeping with the science”.

“The language is certainly a step forward, it speaks to transitioning away from fossil fuels in a way the process has not done before,” said the Alliance of Small Island States in a statement. “But we must note the text does not speak specifically to fossil fuel phaseout and mitigation in a way that is in fact ‘the step change that is needed’. It is incremental and not transformational,” the alliance wrote.

Fossil fuel boilers out. Meanwhile, outside the COP bubble, the EU continued its relentless march to adopt Green Deal legislation before the June European elections.

On Thursday, EU legislators in the European Parliament and the Council of the EU – representing the 27 member states – reached a political agreement on the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), one of the key elements of the Green Deal.

The political deal includes a landmark agreement to phase out fossil fuel boilers by 2040, while cutting all public subsidies for oil, coal or gas heaters as of 2025.

Other parts of the EPBD were diluted though, due to resistance from EU countries to adopt mandatory energy performance standards for home renovations. Nikolaus J. Kurmayer has more.

Yet, lawmakers in Germany were anxious about the new rules, with the business-friendly FDP party complaning that the EU’s 2040 fossil boiler ban would come five years earlier than Germany’s own 2045 end date. “The EU Buildings Directive must not be allowed to thwart German laws,” said Daniel Föst, the FDP’s spokesman on building policy. Niko has the follow-up story.

New hydrogen body. EU legislators weren’t content and continued on Friday (8 December) by striking a political agreement on the EU’s hydrogen and decarbonised gas package.

The new rules relate to the governance of Europe’s future hydrogen grid, which will be placed under the supervision of a new independent body, the European Network of Network Operators for Hydrogen (ENNOH).

ENNOH will be fully operational as of 2028 but it will not be fully independent from day one however, leaving time for existing gas grid operators to re-arrange their existing assets before supervision is handed over to the new body. Niko Kurmayer explains here.

Critical raw materials act. The day before, on Thursday (7 December), the European Parliament gave the EU’s (near) final approval to the Critical Raw Materials Act, a piece of legislation meant to decrease the Union’s reliance on China for rare earths and other minerals needed for the green transition.

While the move was broadly welcomed, industry players and green mobility campaigners at Transport and Environment (T&E) also flagged concerns about Europe’s ability to attract investments in new mining and recycling projects in Europe. Fred Simon has the story.

Net-zero industry act. On the same day, national ministers were also voting on a related piece of legislation in the Council of the EU – the Net-Zero Industry Act, which was tabled in March alongside the raw materials plan.

While Parliament had previously voted to exclude Chinese companies from public tenders for large renewable energy projects, national ministers took a more cautious stance. Under the Council’s general approach, “at least” 20% of renewable energy auctions should be awarded based on “resilience criteria” rather than price only, making room for EU bidders who are typically more expensive than Chinese companies.

The move aimed at appeasing  Germany, which feared that excluding Chinese products could endanger the roll-out of renewables. Jonathan Packroff has more.

The French also got what they wanted from NZIA, with a clause reinstating nuclear energy among the EU’s “strategic” net-zero technologies, in line with an earlier vote held in Parliament last month. More on that story with Paul Messad.

• France unveils plan to up investments in nuclear fusion, natural hydrogen – By Paul Messad
• ‘Pay-as-you-throw’: The microchips conquering Europe’s waste bins – By Nathan Canas

BELGRADE. Serbia makes ‘green criterion’ mandatory for public procurement. Governments and state-owned enterprises in Serbia will have to consider environmental matters when purchasing goods, services and works from 1 January, meaning that purchasers in certain categories will no longer be able to use price as the sole criterion for awarding contracts. Read more.

SOFIA. Bulgaria waives Russian gas transit tax in hopes of furthering Schengen talks. Parties of the ruling majority in the Bulgarian parliament have agreed to cancel the tax on Russian gas imports transiting through Bulgarian territory, with GERB leader and former prime minister Boyko Borissov hoping it could help the country’s Schengen Area bid. Read more.

LJUBLJANA. Slovenia to ban gas boilers in new homes. Boilers in new Slovenian homes will be banned under a reformed energy law passed by the government last week despite the move having already drawn criticism. Read more.

BUCHAREST. Romania to have 30,000 charging stations for electric cars by mid-2026. Romania plans to enhance the national infrastructure for alternative fuels in road vehicles, which includes the installation of at least 30,000 recharging points by mid-2026, EU Commissioner for Transport Adina Vălean announced at a sustainable mobility event in Bucharest on Thursday. Read more.

BRATISLAVA. Slovakia to allocate more funding to avoid rising prices of household energy. The Slovak government will give €1.25 billion to energy aid next year in an effort to prevent a 20% increase in household electricity charges, Slovak Economy Minister Denisa Saková said on Wednesday. Read more.

Hamas-Israel war splits climate NGOs at COP28. A human rights protest during the COP28 climate conference on 10 December exposed divisions in the NGO community about the conflict in the Middle East.

The protest saw global climate alliance CAN International charge Israel with “intent of genocide” and attempt at “ethnic cleansing” of the Palestinian people. The presenter, in a skeleton costume, accused Israeli forces of bombing multiple hospitals and burning refugee tents while their occupants were inside, a claim that could not be independently verified. 

The event has exposed divisions within the global NGO community, with German environmental groups distancing themselves from CAN International.

“By making the armed conflicts a one-sided topic at the COP, CAN is neither giving impetus to a peace process nor helping global climate protection,” said the German division of the WWF. A decision on whether to continue supporting CAN International would follow after COP28, the group said. 

Another German organisation similarly disavowed CAN’s “fossil of the day” award given to Israel on 10 December. “The Wuppertal Institute expressly distances itself from the awarding of this negative prize to Israel and also quite explicitly from the formulations used by the Climate Action Network,” it said.  (Nikolaus J. Kurmayer | Euractiv.de )

• COP28 in Dubai: Climate action and fossil fuel phase-out urgent – By Evi Kiorri

• CO2 storage: Keeping the bar high for the oil and gas industry – By Matteo Guidi
• Five hidden gems in the EU’s recast buildings directive – By Peter Sweatman
• What previous failures tell us about Europe’s green steel ambitions – By Julia Poliscanova
• The growing role of non-price criteria in offshore wind auctions – By Julia Panny, Malte Gephart, Pia Weckenbrock and Vasilios Anatolitis
• Why Europe needs a new body to design its hydrogen infrastructure – By Megan Anderson and Michaela Holl
• How innovation is shaping the future of building renovations – By Adrian Joyce

• 13 DECEMBER. 
  • Trilogue talks (final?) on electricity market reform
  • Final trilogue on Construction Products Regulation
• 14-15 DECEMBER. European Council
• 18 DECEMBER. Environment Council
  • General approach (tbc) on Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation
• 19 DECEMBER. Energy Council
• 1 January. Belgium takes over EU Council presidency
• 2024 – Q1. Commission proposals:
  • Communication on water resilience
  • Communication on advanced materials for industrial leadership
• 15 JANUARY. Parliament plenary votes:
  • European Hydrogen Bank
  • Geothermal energy
• 6 FEBRUARY. Commission proposals:
  • 2040 Climate target communication
  • Communication on industrial carbon management
• MARCH 2024. Parliament plenary votes:
  • Directive on waste
  • ‘Green claims’ directive, protecting consumers from greenwashing
• 4 MARCH. Energy Council
• 25 MARCH. Environment Council
• 22-25 APRIL. Last European Parliament plenary session before the European elections
  • Circularity requirements for vehicle design and on management of end-of-life vehicles
• SPRING 2024. First European Climate Risk Assessment
• 6-9 JUNE: European elections

Edited by Frédéric Simon. Interested in more energy and environment news delivered to your inbox? You can subscribe to our daily newsletter and to our comprehensive weekly update here.

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