Peter Liese: Donald Trump has not succeeded in destroying the international process / The EU had to swallow a few bitter pills, but setbacks were prevented and slight progress was achieved
“The most important thing is that Donald Trump has not succeeded in destroying the international process, unlike other international processes (e.g. the World Shipping Organisation). I am very relieved about that. The world is moving on, and I hope that the U.S.-Americans will be back at the table sooner or later. Trump may already be weakened by the midterm elections in November to such an extent that he will at least no longer be able to exert a negative influence on international negotiations. I hope that a new U.S. president will then return to the international work against climate change. As a colleague from the European Parliament said: ‘America will be late again’,” commented Peter Liese, climate policy spokesperson for the largest group in the European Parliament (EPP, Christian Democrats), on the outcome of COP30 in Belém.
In Liese's view, it is very important that Friday's completely unacceptable text was not adopted. “On Friday, there was a text that would have represented a real step backwards compared to the current decisions, e.g. those taken in Dubai and Glasgow. In particular, it reintroduced the old, completely outdated division between developing and developed countries. In the UNFCCC context, countries such as Singapore, China and Saudi Arabia are classified as developing countries and are therefore not required to participate neither in ambitious climate protection measures nor its financing. The document now on the table at least reopens the door,‘ Liese emphasised. The Member of the European Parliament sees slight progress on the issue of emissions reductions: “There will be a high-level event on the topic in 2026, and the wording is better than ever before, even if it is not sufficiently precise.”
Peter Liese highlights the creation of the forest fund TFFF as another positive point. “The protection of the rainforest must be given greater focus in international negotiations, because the collapse of large rainforests such as the Amazon or the Congo Basin would render all efforts to protect the climate futile,” Liese concluded.
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