Morning Edition · Tue 13 Oct 2026
EU Holds to 1.5°C Goal for COP31, Accepting Temporary Overshoot
EU environment ministers on Monday finalised the bloc's position for November's COP31 summit in Antalya, sticking to the 1.5°C target even as warming looks likely to exceed it this year.
Chanan Zevin - Chief Editor and Head of Desks
Published
Overshoot, peak, decline
Meeting in Luxembourg on Monday, October 12, EU ministers said an “overshoot-peak-decline” approach is the best remaining option to meet the 1.5°C goal, the German news agency DPA reported. Every further fraction of a degree must be avoided and warming brought back onto the 1.5°C path, the ministers said, according to DPA.
The position also underscores the planned phase-out of fossil fuels, and the EU wants the Antalya conference to focus on turning commitments such as national climate plans into concrete action, DPA reported.
A united front
“It is important that we as Europeans enter the negotiations with a united front,” German Environment Minister Carsten Schneider said, according to DPA. Moving onto a 1.5°C path “also offers enormous economic opportunities,” he said.
The EU will push for a “mitigation package” focused on turning existing pledges into real-world emissions cuts, Reuters reported, citing an internal EU document, according to Just Security.