EESC President

Together with the delegation of EESC Members, President Röpke participated in this year's United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) for the global stocktaking of the progress made towards climate change. Committed to enhancing youth participation in climate action, the EESC Delegation was joined by a Youth Delegate, Diandra Ní Bhuachalla.

Throughout the visit, President Röpke met with prominent political figures, including EU COP negotiators: Commissioner for Climate Action Wopke Hoekstra and Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Teresa Ribera, and also Belgian Minister of Climate Zakia Khattabi and German Minister of State for Europe and Climate Anna Lührmann. Meetings also took place with the representatives of YOUNGO, the official youth and children constituency of the United Nations Climate Change processes. President Röpke emphasised the urgent need to phase out fossil fuels, involve youth in climate action and ensure a just transition for all. The meetings also provided an opportunity to occasion to touch upon the EESC initiative on water resilience – the Blue Deal – as water plays a crucial role in climate change.

The President participated in various events and conferences, such as the ILO Friends of Just Transition informal meeting, alongside the side events on "Walking the talk: experiences on just transition and social dialogue", "Beyond Growth: Sufficiency for a sustainable and equitable future", co-organised with European Youth Forum and Generation Climate Europe.

The EESC has actively participated in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change since 2014. With the establishment of the EESC Ad Hoc Group on the Conference of the Parties (COP) of the Convention in February 2022, the EESC took a step forward in developing a more strategic approach towards strengthening the voice of civil society in the international climate agenda. The Group prepared two contributions for COP28 negotiations on (i) agri-food sustainable systems and (ii) the just transition work programme, which, in addition to 'investment and financing of climate change mitigation', formed three priority areas for EESC at this year's COP.

The EESC at COP 28 | European Economic and Social Committee (europa.eu)

EESC side events | European Economic and Social Committee (europa.eu)

Speakers EESC delegation | European Economic and Social Committee (europa.eu)