European Parliament MEPs have adopted their negotiating mandate for the COP31 UN climate talks in Antalya, calling for faster action on fossil fuels, increased climate finance and support for countries most vulnerable to climate change.
The COP31 conference is due to take place from 9 to 20 November in Antalya, Turkey, and is expected to focus on advancing the transition away from fossil fuels, launching the next “global stocktake” — the UN process that periodically assesses collective progress on climate goals — and putting into operation a new climate finance target agreed at COP29, the Parliament noted in a statement on Thursday.
MEPs said 2025 was one of the hottest years on record and described Europe as the fastest-warming continent.
The EU remains on track to cut emissions by 54% by 2030 compared with 1990, if member states deliver on existing plans.
Preliminary Eurostat figures show EU emissions rose by 1% between 2024 and 2025.
Fossil fuels and climate finance
MEPs urged all parties to advance a roadmap on transitioning away from fossil fuels agreed at COP30.
They also called for the EU to take a leading role in negotiations towards a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty, and for time-bound plans to phase out fossil fuel subsidies and production.
On funding, MEPs said the gap between climate finance needs and current levels of support is “significant and growing”, and called for contributions to increase, particularly through grants and highly concessional finance — funding offered on generous terms, such as very low interest rates.
The resolution also warned against double-counting or re-labelling existing funds to meet the new collective quantified goal on climate finance, known as the NCQG.
Climate finance should be allocated in a way that does not increase debt burdens in climate-vulnerable countries, giving priority to grant-based support and debt relief instruments.
MEPs also cited estimates that up to 3.6 billion people live in contexts highly vulnerable to climate change, and called for faster scaling-up of predictable and accessible finance for the fund responding to “loss and damage” — support for countries suffering climate-related harms — as well as delivery on a goal to triple adaptation finance by 2035.
A delegation of 15 MEPs, headed by Portuguese MEP Lídia Pereira, is due to attend the talks from 16 to 20 November.
