At the end of a year that has seen an increase in climate-related litigation cases globally, plaintiffs, lawyers and campaigners representing six cases made clear at the UN climate talks in Katowice today that governments can no longer escape from their responsibility to protect the citizens from runaway climate change. In 2018, people around the world kept turning to the courts as politicians failed to deliver anything close to the necessary level of climate change mitigation – and courts increasingly order governments to deliver the urgent cuts in emissions necessary. Judging by the current rate at which these cases are being filed against governments, this is likely to only be tip of the (melting) iceberg in 2019.
To watch the press conference: https://unfccc-cop24.streamworld.de/webcast/climate-litigation-2018-how-courts-are-enforcing-e
The host of this year’s UN climate summit COP24, Poland won the shameful Fossil of the Day Award from Climate Action Network International today. The dubious award was handed down to Poland for promoting coal interests and turning a blind eye to the need to ramp up climate pledges by 2020.
One day after the EU Commission published its Long-Term Climate Strategy aiming at net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and just a few days before the the COP24 UNFCCC climate negotiations, which just started in Katowice, Poland - the ministers of Western Balkan countries which are parties to the Energy Community Treaty, gathered for the Ministerial Council, the Energy Community’s governing body, to pledge allegiance to the EU’s climate plans.
Wednesday, 5 December 14:00, Press Conference Room Area F—Theatre at COP 24 Venue in Katowice
On Wednesday 5 December, plaintiffs, lawyers and campaigners representing six climate cases around the world will attend the UN climate talks in Katowice to share updates about the legal actions that aim to ensure that national governments deliver the urgent cuts in emissions necessary to avert catastrophic climate change.
EU leaders of Austria, Finland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Spain attending the climate summit COP24 have recognized that further climate action is necessary to reach the 1.5°C temperature goal set out in the Paris Agreement.
On 2 December, government leaders will gather in Katowice, Poland, for the COP24 climate summit, where all countries of the world, including all EU Member States, need to commit to adopting higher 2030 climate targets by 2020; agree on the Paris rulebook, which will govern how the landmark agreement will be implemented; and provide adequate support for developing countries. To stay below 1.5°C in line with the landmark IPCC report, the EU needs to commit to significantly increase its 2030 target, even beyond the 55% reduction some Member States and the European Parliament are calling for.
As part of the proceeding of the People’s Climate Case - the case challenging the EU’s 2030 climate target for its insufficiency to protect the citizens and their fundamental rights-, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU have submitted their first defence to court. The EU Institutions ask the European General Court to declare the case inadmissible. Now, the European General Court is expected to start a preliminary procedure to decide if the plaintiffs of the People’s Climate Case could have a standing in the court and could be allowed to be heard about their claims.
The proposal to upgrade the EU’s long-term target to net zero emissions by 2050 included in the draft Long-Term EU Climate Strategy released by the European Commission today is an important step forward, but it is likely not enough to achieve the Paris Agreement’s goal to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C.
Statement from the Board of Climate Action Network Europe, regarding allegations of inappropriate conduct within the management of the Climate Action Network International Secretariat:
The European Commission is expected to publish its proposal for a long-term EU climate strategy on Wednesday, 28 November. This proposal will set the stage for negotiations among European governments about how much the EU should reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and what action it should take to make sure it achieves the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement. The IPCC’s recent report says that the next 12 years are critical to limit temperature rise to 1.5°C.
Nicolas Derobert
Communications Coordinator
nicolas /at/ caneurope.org
Work: +32 2894 4673
Mobile: +32 483 621 888
Stevan Vujasinović
Communications Coordinator for Southeast Europe
stevan /at/ caneurope.org
Mobile: +381 (0)63 390 218
Goksen Sahin
Communications Coordinator
goksen /at/ caneurope.org
Work: +32 2893 0827
Mobile: +32 468 453 920
