French President Emmanuel Macron backed off his threat to punish the U.K. for restricting French fishing boats in British waters, but only for the time being. After meeting U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the sidelines of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Macron said the British would come back with fresh proposals today. Downing Street said Brexit Minister David Frost will travel to Paris on Thursday to hold in-depth discussions with France’s junior minister for European affairs, Clement Beaune. The short extension means the fish spat remains on the agenda for now. The tensions — over an issue that represents only a fraction of each countries’ economy — risk overshadowing the climate talks, as well as burdening efforts to resolve the EU’s dispute with the U.K. over Northern Ireland.
— Kevin Whitelaw, Joe Mayes and Kitty Donaldson
What’s Happening
Climate Rush | The EU urged leaders to boost their ambitions as COP26 opened in Glasgow. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on nations to speed up the race to net-zero emissions, step up climate finance, accelerate innovation and agree on robust rules on a global climate market. “Put a price on carbon; nature can’t pay the price anymore,” she told the summit. Council President Charles Michel told Bloomberg Television: “We have to act immediately.”
EU Splits | France’s Macron chided other nations at COP26 for forgetting the values of ambition, solidarity and trust that helped drive the Paris Agreement in 2015. Germany’s Angela Merkel called for more countries to adopt carbon pricing. But Andrej Babis, the departing Czech leader, used the summit to argue once again for the EU to take a more pragmatic and less “ideological” approach to its green plans.
Polish Spat | Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said he didn’t think the EU’s rule-of-law dispute with Poland would hamper the bloc’s ambitious climate plans, even though Warsaw has threatened to obstruct the effort as long as millions of euros were being held up by Brussels. “There are worries about Poland and rule of law in general. But you asked me a question about Poland in relation to COP26, the outcomes, the necessity for clear commitments. I would think that’s possible," he said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.
Methane Promise | Around 80 countries have signed up to a pledge to cut methane emissions by 30% by the end of the decade, an increase of about 20 from last week. The pledge will be unveiled tomorrow, likely by Von der Leyen and U.S. President Joe Biden. Watch out, too, for a potential declaration on transition funding for South Africa in a bid to tilt the nation away from coal, and a tie-up with Bill Gates to help fund moonshot climate solutions.
In Case You Missed It
Gas Reversed | Europe’s natural gas squeeze tightened after some Russian supplies reversed direction and Algeria stopped shipments to Spain. Markets were roiled with everyone trying to evaluate President Vladimir Putin’s promises that more gas supplies will flow to Europe, since that hasn’t yet materialized.
Metals Deal | EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said the weekend deal struck with the U.S. to scrap steel and aluminum tariffs is a sign of a reinvigorated transatlantic relationship that has moved past a spat over a collapsed submarine deal with the French. “There is a positive momentum and we are willing to build on this,” he told Bloomberg Television in an interview. Shares of companies hit by retaliatory tariffs, including Harley-Davidson and the maker of Jack Daniel’s, rallied.
Leaving London | Ryanair is poised to drop its London Stock Exchange listing, becoming the first major company to blame its departure on Brexit. The Irish discount airline, which is also listed in Dublin, said yesterday that it is weighing the move due to compliance headaches caused by Britain’s exit from the EU.
Covid Deal | The U.K. has linked its National Health Service Covid Pass to the EU’s own digital passport, a move that should facilitate travel for those who are vaccinated. Check out Bloomberg’s Covid-19 Travel Tracker, which ranks Madrid, Barcelona, Paris and Vienna as the world’s most accessible destinations.
Chart of the Day
For all of the EU’s climate ambitions, there’s still an awkward fact that the current energy crisis is making even harder to ignore: For decades, Europe has relied on imported gas from Russia to power electricity grids, run factory furnaces, and heat homes. The country’s oil and gas industry emitted 12.9 million tons of methane in 2020, the most in the world, according to the International Energy Agency. Read our in-depth exploration of this here.
Today’s Agenda
All times CET
- 2 p.m. EU unveils methane pledge at COP26 in Glasgow
- 3:15 p.m. Von der Leyen delivers remarks on clean technology at COP26
- 7 p.m. Von der Leyen meets with philanthropist Bill Gates in Glasgow
- EU Vice President Vera Jourova in Lisbon for WebSummit, meets with Facebook VP Nick Clegg
- Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson in Tallinn to meet Estonian President Alar Karis