Why Europe needs an ambitious energy efficiency target
The next round of UN climate change negotiations is fast approaching, this time hosted by Egypt.
In the year between COP27 and the last UN climate change conference, in November 2021, the world has changed. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sent inflation spiralling. Energy, food and supply chain security have shot to the top of the political agenda.
Though some governments have used the crisis to step up the pace of efforts to decarbonise and improve energy efficiency, some have focused on finding new fossil fuel sources to increase energy security in the short term. Others, such as Poland and some politicians in the UK, are wrongly blaming soaring energy costs on measures to tackle climate change.
Despite the two country’s declaration of cooperation at COP26 in Glasgow, the China–US Climate Working Group has been suspended, and bilateral meetings on several issues have been cancelled.
