With governments under mounting pressure to turn climate pledges into real-world results, Ireland is stepping into a leading role for the European Union as COP31 opens today in Turkey.
Representatives from almost 200 countries have converged on Antalya to negotiate how to cut greenhouse gas emissions, finance climate action and shield communities already feeling the worsening effects of global warming.
As holder of the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, Ireland will help steer and coordinate the bloc’s negotiating position alongside the European Commission.
Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment Darragh O’Brien said the EU must engage developing countries with greater understanding and a readiness to listen, after sharp divisions at last year’s summit in Brazil.
Darragh O’Brien says Ireland wants to help rebuild trust and increase investment and climate action (file pic)
Ahead of the talks, Mr O’Brien said a key test of credibility will be whether countries deliver what has already been promised — especially financial support pledged to vulnerable nations.
He noted that many states still struggle to secure the funding needed to protect their people, despite international agreements intended to scale up assistance.
Mr O’Brien said Ireland wants to help rebuild trust and make sure commitments translate into investment and action on the ground.
Irish environmental and development organisations, however, argue that momentum at COP31 will hinge not only on headline figures but also on how funding is provided — and what strings are attached.
ActionAid Ireland Chief Executive Karol Balfe, who chairs Stop Climate Chaos, is urging countries to prioritise grants-based public finance rather than loans that can deepen debt burdens for poorer nations.
She says countries that did relatively little to cause climate change should not be forced to borrow more to manage its fallout.
Ms Balfe is also calling for stronger backing for communities experiencing losses and damage that cannot be avoided.
Beyond finance, negotiators are expected to confront the world’s continuing reliance on coal, oil and gas.
Australia’s Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen, who will lead the negotiations, is pressing for practical movement on electrification.
In effect, that means shifting transport, heating and industry away from burning fossil fuels directly and toward greater use of electricity.
Representatives from almost 200 countries will attend this year’s summit
The summit presidency is also championing a voluntary pledge to lift electricity’s share of global final energy consumption to 35% by 2035.
That initiative sits outside the formal negotiating track, where outcomes require agreement among participating countries.
The EU is backing faster clean electrification, alongside fulfilment of the commitment to transition away from fossil fuels.
Mr Bowen has declined to predict whether explicit fossil-fuel language will feature in the final agreement, pointing to the challenge of reaching consensus.
The negotiations open as the United Nations Environment Programme warns that existing policies leave the world heading for roughly 2.8 degrees of warming this century.
Even though scientists expect temperatures to rise beyond 1.5 degrees, they emphasise that limiting each additional fraction of a degree can still reduce harm.
The conference is set to run until 20 November.
Ultimately, COP31 will be judged on whether governments can agree steps that speed up emissions cuts and provide accessible support to the countries facing the most severe risks.
