EU ‘disappointed’ with UN climate deal on emissions

The European Union expressed disappointment on Sunday with a lack of ambition on reducing emissions in the climate deal agreed at the UN’s COP27 summit in Egypt.

The 27-nation bloc and other developed countries had pushed for stronger commitments to bring down emissions in order to achieve the aspirational goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels.

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"The European Union came here to get strong language agreed and we are disappointed we didn't achieve this," European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans told the closing session of the summit in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh.

"What we have in front of us is not enough of a step forward for people and planet," he said.

This photo shows the entrance of the UN’s COP27 summit in Egypt.

"It doesn't bring enough added efforts from major emitters to increase and accelerate their emission cuts."

The EU had threatened to walk away from the talks if it did not get better commitments on emissions, but it did not block the final statement following marathon talks that ended early Sunday.

Timmermans pointed to the EU's decision to back the creation of a "loss and damage" fund at COP27 to compensate vulnerable nations hit by climate impacts -- an issue the bloc had opposed in the past over concerns about potential liability.

"We're faced with a moral dilemma, because this deal is not enough on mitigation," said Timmermans.

"Do we walk away and thereby kill a fund that vulnerable countries fought so hard for for decades?... No. That would have been a huge mistake and a huge missed opportunity to tackle climate change," he said.

Agence France-Presse