Brussels: The European Parliament adopted its negotiating mandate for the COP31 climate talks on 22 October 2026, setting out what MEPs want from the UN conference in Antalya, Turkey, from 9 to 20 November. A 15-member delegation led by Portuguese MEP Lídia Pereira will attend from 16 to 20 November.

Fossil fuels sit at the centre of the text for the COP31 climate talks. MEPs want the EU to advance the COP30 roadmap on transitioning away from fossil fuels and to take a leading role in negotiations on a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty. They also ask for time-bound plans to phase out fossil fuel subsidies and production, and they repeat their call to keep fossil fuel lobbyists out of national delegations.

Money is the second fight at the COP31 climate talks. Parliament asks for higher contributions, especially grants and highly concessional finance, and warns against double counting under the new collective quantified goal agreed at COP29. It calls the funding gap significant and growing. MEPs also want finance allocated so it does not add to debt burdens in vulnerable countries, plus predictable money for the loss and damage fund and a tripling of adaptation finance by 2035.

The mandate reaches into aviation and carbon markets as well. MEPs want the ICAO’s CORSIA scheme made more ambitious to match the Paris 1.5 degree aim, and they want high-quality standards for international credits under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. The EU can use such credits for up to 5 percent of its 2040 target of a 90 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions.

The justification for the COP31 climate talks rests on a hard climate record. MEPs noted that 2025 was one of the hottest years on record and that Europe is the fastest-warming continent. Preliminary Eurostat figures show EU emissions rose 1 percent between 2024 and 2025, although the bloc remains on track for a 54 percent cut by 2030 against 1990 if member states deliver on existing plans.

Parliament’s delegation attends the COP31 climate talks but does not negotiate for the bloc. The Commission and member states carry the EU position into the room, and the Parliament text works as political pressure on both. The institutions explain their roles on the Commission’s climate negotiations page and in the Parliament’s press room.

The test in Antalya is whether the EU can match its fossil fuel language with money and a clear line on carbon credits. If the COP31 climate talks end without new finance rules, the Parliament mandate will read more like a wish list than a negotiating position.