By John Ainger and Ewa Krukowska | Updated on Oct 06, 2026 at 02:59 PM
The European Union will push for a so-called “mitigation package” at the COP31 climate summit next month after a recent United Nations report said the world would breach the key 1.5C temperature goal laid out by the Paris Agreement.
The EU has struggled over the past couple of years to get the world to agree on a faster pace of emissions cuts, or implement a commitment made in 2023 to transition away from fossil fuels. Instead the bloc has become bogged down in issues of finance and trade, and has lost a key ally in the US after President Donald Trump pulled out of the Paris Agreement.
At November’s COP31 summit in Antalya, Turkey, the EU will double down on its push to cut emissions globally. Negotiators want to prolong a key “Mitigation Work Programme” negotiating track — a forum for discussing how to best cut emissions — until at least 2040, and lay the groundwork for the key Global Stocktake in 2028, according to a draft document seen by Bloomberg.
The former’s mandate runs until COP31, and the latter is set to track progress that’s been made and outline further steps needed to curb temperature rises this century.
At the same time, “there is no scope” for new climate finance commitments at COP31 and the focus should remain on implementing existing decisions, the EU document says.
The EU push comes after the UN warned last month that in the next few years the world will likely miss a key target of 2015’s Paris Agreement: to limit global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. Warming will peak at around 1.8C in a best-case scenario and without changes to current policies, could reach 2.6C, according to the report.
“The COP31 outcome must communicate the urgency of action,” according to a draft document compiled by Ireland, which holds the rotating presidency of the bloc.
At the Environment Council on Monday, ministers will discuss EU preparations for COP31.
“The EU wants to see a balanced outcome at COP31, which advances the implementation of the Paris Agreement and the first Global Stocktake, strengthens coalitions, and delivers practical progress,” a spokesperson for the Irish Presidency said. The mitigation program will be key to that balance, the person said.
Read more: UN Warns Global Warming Will Exceed 1.5C and Must Be Reversed
This year’s summit isn’t expect to deliver a single major outcome. Instead of an overarching political agreement, the EU will focus on a small number of “tangible priorities,” according to the document.
Turkey, the president of COP31, has announced its ambition to boost global electrification of final energy consumption to 35% by 2035. The EU will weigh whether such a goal is sufficient, or should be predicated on making sure electricity should come from clean sources, according to the draft document.