EU Targets Fewer, Clearer Climate Goals in Strategic Push for COP31 Summit
By Kate Abnett
EU Refines Climate Strategy Ahead of COP31
BRUSSELS, June 8 (Reuters) - The EU wants to target fewer, clearer goals at the world's annual climate summit in November, building alliances in advance to avoid a repeat of last year's bruising talks where the bloc struggled to advance its agenda, a document showed on Monday.
The internal document, which was seen by Reuters, was prepared by the upcoming Irish presidency of the 27-nation European Union and spells out the strategy the EU should take for the United Nations' COP31 climate summit in Turkey.
Streamlining the Negotiating Mandate
The EU's negotiating mandate should be "shorter, sharper and more strategic" than in previous years, the document said.
"We should say fewer things, more clearly - and stand firmly behind them," it said.
Lessons from COP30
The previous global climate conference, COP30, in Brazil, ended without deals on EU priorities to accelerate cuts to planet-heating emissions and reduce fossil fuel use.
"Europe should continue to stand firmly for ambitious climate action and for the integrity of the multilateral process. But ambition alone is not a strategy," the document said.
While discussions of a roadmap to phase out fossil fuels and plans to increase climate funding dominated the talks in Brazil last year, the 15-page EU negotiating mandate that its member countries had agreed ahead of the summit did not include positions on those issues.
Some diplomats said the EU's failure to push through its agenda was in part due to a lack of preparation.
'Deploying Strategically' as Iran War Looms Over Summit
Geopolitical Challenges and Energy Security
The challenge to agree on ambitious climate action at this year's COP comes as countries around the world struggle to respond to the Iran war's disruption of energy supplies, with some expanding renewable energy while others burn more coal.
Building Early Alliances
Ireland will also focus on early outreach by EU member governments to other countries, building cooperation with both allies and opponents in the talks, the document said.
This will involve dividing up negotiating responsibilities among member states' ministers to ensure they are "deployed strategically both in the lead-up to and during COP31 itself."
Political Ownership and Year-Round Diplomacy
"Political ownership matters. Ministers should not arrive at COP only to react to events as they unfold," the document said.
Asked about the document, a spokesperson for Ireland's climate ministry told Reuters the country was taking a streamlined approach to preparing for COP, and "concentrating our efforts where we can make the greatest contribution and on key priorities".
"Climate diplomacy is not just about two weeks at a COP; it is a year-round process of engagement, relationship-building and delivery," the spokesperson said.
(Reporting by Kate Abnett; additional reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Jan Strupczewski and Joe Bavier)
