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Mr President, Mr President-designate, distinguished delegates, 

I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the European Union and its Member States. 

The Candidate Countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Georgia, as well as Andorra and San Marino align themselves with this statement.

Thank you for this briefing which comes at a crucial moment.

Let me start by emphasising as President von der Leyen did in Davos that the Paris Agreement continues to be the best hope for all humanity. So Europe will stay the course, and keep working with all nations that want to protect nature and stop global warming. Climate change is still on top of the global agenda. 

Just last week the European Commission presented the Clean Industrial Deal, Europe's business plan to tackle the climate crisis, boost the competitiveness and ensure economic resilience. 

At the very centre of the Deal is decarbonisation as a driver for prosperity, growth, and resilience. By committing to delivering on our climate objectives, we are setting the stage for a sustainable future.

This leads me to our expectations for 2025. I will focus on several issues:

1. On EU international climate finance and the new finance goal:

We welcome the decision taken in Baku on the new collective quantified goal on climate finance which emphasizes the leading role of developed countries and Multilateral Development Banks in mobilizing finance, encourages the contributions of other countries and actors, and identifies the needed reforms to scale up financing and enhance accessibility and effectiveness.

We reaffirm our strong commitment to provide and mobilize international climate finance. But let’s be honest: the needs for climate-related investment are so vast that they can never be met solely by the provision of public finance and the mobilisation of finance through public interventions. A strong enabling environment for investment is not optional—it’s essential.

With the Baku to Belem Roadmap, we will be identifying measures and actors needed to unlock the 1.3 trillion dollars of international public and private financing. Building momentum for specific measures and initiatives could help remove barriers for developing countries, such as limited fiscal space, cost of capital, access and unsustainable debt levels.

2. On mitigation ambition:

Regretfully at COP29, Parties could not agree on taking forward the GST outcomes, especially with regard to energy transition. Considering the importance of those outcomes for the next round of NDCs, to be submitted in 2025, to avoid overshooting the 1.5°C goal, this outcome doesn’t serve the achievement of the objective of the Paris agreement. The world expects real progress on transitioning away from fossil fuels at COP30. We, simply, cannot afford to have two consecutive COPs without an outcome on mitigation. 

We welcome the newly appointed mitigation work programme co-chairs and count on them—and all Parties—to secure a bold, substantive decision in Belém.

3. Pathway to COP30

COP 30 is expected to be a key milestone in the enhancement of NDCs under the Paris Agreement. Given the outcomes of the first GST and the latest scientific findings, countries are expected to put forward more ambitious NDCs to bridge the gap between current commitments and the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C.  The success of COP30 will be measured by our common ability to close the ambition gap to 1.5 degrees.   We trust Brasil’s leadership in keeping the 1.5 C target alive. 

The EU is on track to meet its current 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and achieve climate neutrality by 2050.

The EU is also preparing its new NDC with a view to submitting it ahead of COP30. Our current targets are science-based, aligned with the 1.5°C objective, and reflect the outcomes of the first Global Stocktake, all enshrined in EU law. Our inclusive decision-making process, engaging all 27 Member States, remains essential for delivering a high-quality and ambitious NDC.

All continents will have to speed up the transition towards net zero and submit ambitious and credible NDCs. In this sense, we would like to commend UNSG’s efforts to encourage big emitters to lead the way in submitting ambitious NDCs. 

COP30 is also expected to complete the work and deliver on adaptation indicators to support the monitoring and assessment of progress on adaptation, ultimately informing the next GST.  The need for urgent adaptation action is rapidly increasing. Strengthening country platforms and advancing national adaptation plans as key national instruments for implementing adaptation action should be important next steps. 

As you can see, we have high expectations for COP30 in Belém as a turning point. We trust the Presidency to lead with transparency, inclusivity, and ambition. This is a pivotal moment to restore confidence in the UNFCCC process and set the course for long-term climate action.

I can assure you that in 2025 the EU will remain committed to driving ambition because the world expects more from all of us.

I thank you.