The European Union will press for a faster transition away from fossil fuels at the UN climate summit in Turkey, after environment ministers agreed the bloc’s negotiating position in Luxembourg on 12 October 2026.
The Council of the EU said governments should accelerate clean energy deployment, including electrification, and implement their national climate commitments. COP31 will take place in Antalya from 9 to 20 November, according to the UN climate secretariat.
Ministers acknowledged that global warming was likely to exceed the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C goal. They described an “overshoot-peak-decline” pathway as the best remaining option for bringing warming below that level by the end of the century, the Council said.
The statement did not specify that the long-term threshold would be crossed in 2026. A single year above 1.5°C is different from exceeding the Paris Agreement’s temperature goal, which concerns sustained warming.
The World Meteorological Organization explains that the agreement’s temperature thresholds refer to long-term warming, typically assessed over 20 years. Annual temperatures can temporarily exceed those levels without establishing that the long-term threshold has been breached.
In its assessment of 2024, the UN weather agency put the global average near-surface temperature at 1.55°C above the 1850–1900 average, with an uncertainty range of plus or minus 0.13°C. It described 2024 as likely the first calendar year above 1.5°C.
The agency says each additional fraction of warming increases risks from heatwaves, extreme rainfall, drought, melting ice and rising seas.
For the EU, the negotiating priorities include implementing national climate plans and submitting outstanding commitments, the Council said. Ministers also backed action to fulfil the first global stocktake’s outcomes, including the transition away from fossil fuels.
They described adaptation to climate impacts and reductions in emissions as complementary requirements.
The summit will divide leadership responsibilities between Turkey and Australia. The UN climate secretariat identifies Turkey as the host, with Murat Kurum nominated as COP31 president and Australia’s Chris Bowen serving as president of negotiations.
Further informal consultations with national delegations are scheduled for 14 October 2026, according to the secretariat’s preparations calendar.
