ENERGO: COP28 – The EU's climate goals and the Western Balkans challenge

EU members are set to push at the upcoming COP28 climate summit for an agreement to gradually phase out fossil fuels that emit carbon dioxide (CO2), as agreed at a summit of EU climate ministers in October, compromising between the more ambitious aims of some member countries and the concerns of others that are more dependent on fossil fuels. The position is also an ambitious one for the countries of the Western Balkans, where five of the six aspiring EU members still have coal as a substantial share of their energy mix. 

As well as seeking a deal to phase out fossil fuels, EU climate ministers also want the gradual elimination of “inefficient” fossil fuel subsidies by the end of the decade, as well as an end to construction of new coal-fuelled power plants. The agreement positions the EU one of the most ambitious participants in the yearly United Nations climate discussions, due to start on November 30 in Dubai. Such a phase out has previously been opposed by major producers of fossil fuels, as well as those who depend on fossil fuels for energy. 

However, as agreed by EU climate ministers, the bloc will argue for an end to "unabated" fossil fuels, which would allow countries the option to continue burning coal, gas, and oil if they employ technology to “abate”, or capture, the emissions. At the same time, ministers acknowledged that emissions-capturing technologies are currently limited in scale, and emphasised that the use of these technologies should not serve as a means to postpone climate action, as reported by Reuters in October.