COP30 Executive Director Calls for European Leadership in the Face of US "Void"

Brussels, July 3 (EFE) - COP30 Executive Director Ana Toni called Thursday for European leadership in global climate negotiations at a time of "political void" in the debate following the United States' withdrawal from the Paris Agreement last January and called for the search for new alliances.

"Europe will have to think of new strategies, of new partners with whom to cooperate in this leadership," she said in a virtual address to the plenary session of the Committee of the Regions (CoR), which addressed the demands of European regions and localities regarding climate transition with the president.

At that forum, Toni affirmed that the climate transition "has already begun" and stressed the need to forge new alliances to strengthen the Paris Agreement.

"Europe has been a leader for many years, and in this time of military and trade wars, we need even more European leadership. You can count on developing countries—Brazil, Latin America, Asia, and Africa—for that partnership in leadership," he said.

He warned that without strong leadership or partnerships between countries working toward climate goals, it will not be possible to achieve the goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, as agreed upon at the COP climate negotiations.

"Brazil is a constructive presidency, willing to join forces with Europe to fill this gap together with other countries. Let's work together," he added.

On the other hand, the executive director of COP30 defined the meeting, which will take place next November in Belém, Brazil, as "historic" at a "crucial moment in global politics," and one that must demonstrate, in her opinion, that the Paris Agreement "remains alive" and continues to set "the course" for global climate action.

He also expressed concern about the "low" number of countries that have submitted their new climate contributions (NDCs) for 2035—24 as of July, according to the report—have communicated their proposals to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and urged the rest to submit their targets.

"We need all countries to submit their NDCs, to be ambitious, and to also tell us how they're implementing global emissions reductions. This will demonstrate whether the Paris Agreement is still alive or not," Toni commented.

He expressed his hope that COP30 would be an opportunity to "strengthen multilateralism," highlight the role of local authorities, and rethink international and business cooperation.