As Biblical floods submerge southern Somalia — a 12 months after being gripped by drought, and with scorching warmth waves nearing 60 levels Celsius asphyxiating Brazil, the newly-appointed EU local weather commissioner Wopke Hoekstra has a frightening activity forward of him in Dubai.
As he heads to the United Arab Emirates subsequent week for the UN local weather talks, COP28, one query looms giant — will he ship on rising ambitions to sort out international heating, or will his long-standing ties to large polluters maintain him again? First issues first, we want full transparency on these ties.
The European Parliament’s newly-passed COP28 Decision calls on Hoekstra to assist a phase-out of all fossil fuels (not simply unabated ones), present our justifiable share of funding for the Loss & Harm Fund, in addition to again a worldwide goal to triple renewable vitality and double vitality effectivity by 2030.
That is why our decision additionally requires the UN to introduce a firewall to guard the local weather talks from the undue affect of the fossil gas trade, just like the World Well being Organisation did to the tobacco trade.
In June greater than 130 US and EU lawmakers wrote to presidents Joe Biden and Ursua von der Leyen and UN local weather chief Simon Stiell, calling on them to assist such a coverage.
Since then the primary child steps in the direction of an formidable Accountability Framework have already been agreed, with individuals obliged to reveal who they work for. We should now go even additional.
However given Hoesktra’s pro-fossil gas monitor file, can we anticipate him to ship? After starting his profession at Dutch oil main Shell (who despatched extra lobbyists to COPs over the previous 20 years than every other fossil gas agency), he then spent 11 years on the consultancy McKinsey.
Whereas the agency is notoriously tight-lipped about who it really works for, identified purchasers embrace Shell, BP, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Gazprom and Saudi Aramco.
These are all corporations that oppose a part out of fossil fuels and have constantly lobbied towards local weather motion.
Hoekstra instructed MEPs that his purchasers at McKinsey didn’t embrace Shell or every other oil corporations, however we all know that the agency has labored for 43 out of the 100 most polluting corporations in recent times.
Given McKinsey’s pro-fossil gas agenda and the now EU local weather commissioner’s size of service there, together with in a senior function as a associate for 5 years (whereas additionally a Dutch senator), severe questions stay about his connections to large polluters and the way that can affect his work at COP28.
Hoekstra has by no means been to a UN local weather summit, however his ex-employer is in reality an advisor to this 12 months’s COP28 Presidency. A current AFP investigation revealed McKinsey has been utilizing its place ”to push the pursuits of its large oil and fuel purchasers, undermining efforts to finish the usage of the fossil fuels driving international warming”.
This flatly contradicts the requires ambition from the European Parliament.
Is Hoekstra nonetheless in contact with McKinsey or ex-colleagues?
Transparency stays an necessary first step. The Fossil Free Politics coalition, with civil society teams throughout Europe, raised professional considerations at his nomination and now assist MEPs name for Hoekstra to reveal his McKinsey purchasers earlier than heading to COP28. He has already promised the parliament that he would accomplish that in early October, however we have now heard nothing since. As well as, he also needs to disclose what connections he should have with the agency.
The European Parliament has clearly referred to as to guard the UN local weather talks from the undue affect of the fossil gas trade, however is the top of the EU negotiating group himself a conduit for that affect?
As MEPs, we name on Hoekstra to show his independence by guaranteeing the EU Fee backs up UN efforts to introduce an Accountability Framework to defend local weather discussions from undue large polluter affect, which might imply no extra oil execs as COP presidents and no extra fossil gas interference within the local weather talks.
COP28 shall be a litmus check for the brand new EU commissioner and the place his true pursuits lie.