The EESC at COP 25

As in previous years, the EESC will be present at the yearly Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – COP25, which this year takes place in Madrid, Spain, from 2-14 December 2019. The original hosting agreement for COP 25 with Chile was cancelled on 30 October 2019 in light of the difficult situation that the country is undergoing.

The implementation of the Paris Agreement is an important challenge and work priority for the EESC. The shift towards a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy has been driven to a great extent by bottom-up initiatives led by non-state and sub-national actors. Despite the recognition of the decisive role and the contribution of these actors, they often face obstacles that make it impossible to take or continue positive climate action.

In 2019, the EESC has called for allocating 40% of EU budget to the fight against climate change. In its opinion on a Strategy for long-term EU greenhouse gas emissions reduction, the EESC strongly supports the objective of making the EU a climate neutral economy by 2050 in a socially fair and efficient manner, and it proposed setting up a permanent citizens’ dialogue as part of political decision-making.

The EESC will co-organise two side events at the COP25, which will take place on the 11^th of December in the EU Pavilion. Please see the events tab for more information.