EU to centre energy security in COP31 push for faster green transition

Ahead of the UN climate summit in Turkey, EU ministers are set to adopt a position that makes energy security a core justification for speeding up the move away from fossil fuels. The draft, links one outlet supply crisis—exacerbated by dependence on US liquefied natural gas and the loss of Russian deliveries—to the urgency of the green transition. It also references geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and disruptions from Gulf states as further evidence of vulnerability.

While the EU stresses that its own emissions are modest, it refuses to increase its climate-finance contributions, instead urging major emitters such as China, the United States and India to raise ambition. A separate Council paper calls for greater private capital, noting that public funds can only act as a catalyst. Climate Action Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra highlighted the need for rapid implementation of the Paris Agreement, especially for vulnerable island nations.