EU at COP26: President von der Leyen attends World Leaders Summit

On 1-2 November, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen represented the Commission at the World Leaders Summit which opened the COP26 UN Climate Conference. The President first spoke in the opening plenary session of COP26, evoking the need for leaders “to be on the right side of history” and “to do whatever it takes now to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius”. The President participated in two forestry-related events, delivering a statement on the Great Green Wall Initiative on Monday and pledging €1 billion in funding for the Global Forests Finance Pledge yesterday. Also on 2 November, the President co-hosted an event on infrastructure investment with US President Joe Biden, where she announced a Just Energy Transition Partnership with South Africa. Next, she officially launched the Global Methane Pledge, a joint EU-US initiative which has mobilised over 100 countries to cut their collective methane emissions by at least 30% by 2030, compared to 2020 levels. Finally, President von der Leyen kicked off the EU-Catalyst partnership with Bill Gates and EIB President Werner Hoyer. More information on the Global Forests Finance Pledge, the Global Methane Pledge and the EU-Catalyst partnership is available online.