ABU DHABI – The need for agreement to tackle global warming is “higher than ever”, but reaching a deal has never been harder as the geopolitical backdrop complicates international cooperation, the European Union’s climate chief said on Monday ahead of next month’s COP28 summit.

Climate action commissioner Wopke Hoekstra also said the EU would not accept an outcome at COP28 that reached deals only on less contentious topics such as increased use of renewable energy, if it failed to solve tougher issues such as phasing out fossil fuels.

“This is not an a la carte menu. It is actually all that is on the menu that needs to be delivered on,” he told Reuters on the sidelines of a preliminary COP28 gathering in Abu Dhabi, ahead of the UN summit starting at the end of November.

The challenge of getting countries to agree is all the greater as Israel has escalated its bombardment of Gaza, Russia’s war on Ukraine continues, and tensions run high between the United States and China.

Geopolitically “very challenging times” make agreement on the climate harder than ever, but the need is “higher than ever”, Mr Hoekstra said.

Scientists have blamed global warming, caused by the burning of fossil fuels, for extreme weather in 2023, which is on track to be the hottest on record.

Israel has so far rejected international calls for a temporary pause in its bombardment of Gaza, and politicians have warned of the risk of a wider conflict.

Tensions have also risen between Europe and China, as Brussels investigates whether to impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle imports that it says are state-subsidised.

China’s ambassador to the EU criticised the EU’s actions as “unjustified and regrettable”, cautioning last week against political confrontations jeopardising climate cooperation.

“Global climate governance does not happen in a vacuum. One should not seek political confrontation on the one hand, and expect unconditional cooperation on the other,” Mr Fu Cong said. REUTERS