EU climate chief Wopke Hoekstra warns ‘expectations low’ from COP31 summit

The European Union’s (EU) top climate official admitted on Tuesday (November 10, 2026) that expectations were “low” from the COP31 summit in Turkiye, while holding out hope for “meaningful” progress on the topic of clean electricity.

“Expectations are low — that’s just a reflection of reality,” European Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra told a group of reporters including from AFP, arguing that electrification should be the core focus of the United Nations climate talks.

“If indeed we manage to make electrification the sole focus, or close to the sole focus of the COP, I think we have a chance to deliver on something that is truly meaningful,” he said.

The European commissioner will travel to the Turkish resort of Antalya on Monday (November 9, 2026) for the talks which run until November 20. Mr. Hoekstra voiced hope that setting an electrification target would be “at the heart” of the summit conclusions, adding: “Of course, the cleaner that electrification is, the better it is.”

Host nation Turkiye is inviting countries to join a voluntary “electrification” pledge to raise the share of global energy demand met by electricity from around 20% today to 35% by 2035. But the EU’s call for “clean” electrification could spark debate over the role of oil, gas and coal in the Turkish proposal.

Observers expect few major breakthroughs from COP31 as countries grapple with an oil price shock and geopolitical tensions fuelled by the U.S. war with Iran and Russia’s conflict in Ukraine.

The talks are also missing a major player since U.S. President Donald Trump who pulled Washington out of the Paris climate agreement has not sent officials to the talks.

“The larger picture is that the geopolitics of the times we live in are extremely complicated,” said Mr. Hoekstra, who acknowledged that a string of recent COP meetings had been “underwhelming in terms of their delivery”.

“There are substantial questions to be asked on how fit for purpose this design actually still is, with its unanimity” system that does not always deliver “what is actually needed,” he said.

The EU has previously warned there would be no political will for extra funding pledges at COP31, a message Mr. Hoekstra repeated. “Europe is at the absolute top of delivering on climate finance, not just for ourselves but also for others,” Mr. Hoekstra said, calling for a push for “more burden sharing”.

Environmental groups have criticised a series of recent European rollbacks on climate, most lately plans to postpone rules targeting methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas. But Mr. Hoekstra pushed back at the notion the EU was backsliding on its ambitions.

“Not at all. Just clear and plain, not at all,” he said, pointing to the bloc’s 27 member states backing a target to cut emissions by 90 percent by 2040 compared with 1990 levels, with some flexibility.