Parliament’s priorities for the COP 31 climate talks in Türkiye
On Thursday, Parliament adopted its negotiating mandate for the COP 31 climate talks, demanding faster climate action on fossil fuels, finance and vulnerable countries.
The 9-20 November UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya, Türkiye, is expected to focus on advancing the fossil fuel transition, launching the next global stocktake, and operationalising the climate finance goal (NCQG) agreed at COP29.
In their resolution, adopted by raise of hands, MEPs point to 2025 as one of the hottest years on record and to Europe as the fastest-warming continent, arguing the EU cannot afford to slow down on its climate action. They note the EU remains on track for a 54% emissions cut by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, if member states deliver on existing plans. However, MEPs flag that preliminary Eurostat figures show emissions actually rose by 1% between 2024 and 2025. Member states and the Commission must now close this gap, MEPs say, stressing that all EU policies must remain aligned with the Paris Agreement and guided by the best available science.
Faster exit from fossil fuels
The text urges all parties to advance the roadmap on transitioning away from fossil fuels, as agreed at the previous climate conference, COP30. MEPs call for the EU to take a leading role in the negotiations towards a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty and for time-bound plans to phase out fossil fuel subsidies and production, urging the EU to lead by example with its own timeline and strategy for an economy-wide phase-out. They also highlight the vulnerabilities created by fossil fuel dependence at a time of geopolitical instability, and the importance of decarbonisation for the EU’s strategic autonomy.
Closing the climate finance gap
MEPs stress that the gap between climate finance needs and what is currently being provided is significant and growing, and call for it to be urgently addressed. While noting that the EU and its member states remain the largest providers of public climate finance, they call for continued increases in contributions, in particular through grants and highly concessional finance, and warn against double-counting or re-categorising existing funds to meet the new collective quantified goal on climate finance (NCQG). The resolution also calls for climate finance to be allocated so as not to worsen the debt burden on climate-vulnerable countries, giving priority to grant-based finance and debt relief instruments.
Adaptation, loss and damage: from pledges to delivery
Noting that up to 3.6 billion people are living in contexts highly vulnerable to climate change, MEPs call for the rapid scaling-up of predictable and accessible finance for the fund for responding to loss and damage, and for all parties to deliver on the goal of tripling adaptation finance by 2035. They also call for swift operationalisation of the just transition mechanism agreed at COP30, and for climate action to be paired with measures supporting green jobs, reskilling and social dialogue.
Background
The European Climate Law established the goal for the EU to become climate neutral by 2050 and to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels. In February 2026, Parliament updated the law with a 2040 reduction target of 90%.
A delegation of 15 MEPs, headed by Lídia Pereira (EPP, PT), will attend the climate talks from 16 to 20 November.
