1 November: Speech by President von der Leyen at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow

From 1 to 12 November, the European Commission will take part in the UN Climate Change Conference, COP26, in Glasgow, UK. On 1-2 November, President von der Leyen will represent the Commission at the World Leaders Summit which officially opens COP26. Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans will lead the EU negotiating team. Commissioner Kadri Simson will also attend COP26, and the EU will host over 150 side events at the EU Pavilion.

The Commission will be pushing all parties to meet their commitments under the Paris Agreement and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. We will also urge developed countries to increase their climate finance to meet the $100 billion target agreed in Paris, to which the EU already contributes over $25 billion and growing, and will work to finalise the ‘Paris Rulebook'.

On 22 October, ahead of COP26 in Glasgow, the European Council called for an ambitious global response to climate change. It is essential to keep the 1.5°C global warming limit within reach. The European Council therefore called upon all Parties to come forward with, and implement, ambitious national targets and policies. It urged in particular major economies that have not yet done so to communicate or update enhanced and ambitious nationally determined contributions in time for COP26 and to present long-term strategies towards reaching net zero emissions by 2050.

On 6 October, the Council approved conclusions setting the EU’s position for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow. The conclusions emphasise the extreme urgency to step up the global response to address the climate emergency and underline the need for a just and fair climate transition across the world. These conclusions constitute the EU’s overarching mandate for the meeting. A more specific mandate for the EU's negotiators as concerns the financing aspects was adopted in the form of Council conclusions at the Economic and Financial Affairs Council on 5 October 2021.

In addition, ministers endorsed the EU Communication on climate change adaptation, which the EU will submit to the UNFCCC Secretariat. The purpose of the document is to present progress and recent actions on climate change adaptation at EU level in line with the Paris Agreement, and to show examples of good practice in this area across the EU and its member states.