IRELAND WILL HELP steer the European Union’s response to the climate crisis at global talks opening today, as the UN warns the world has entered “a new age of climate extremes”.

With 2026 on course to be one of the four warmest years on record, Irish negotiators will coordinate the positions of EU countries as they seek agreement on cutting emissions and financing climate action.

The role falls to Ireland as holder of the presidency of the Council of the EU, with climate minister Darragh O’Brien leading the bloc’s negotiations alongside the European Commission at COP31 in Antalya, Turkey.

“Ireland will be leading negotiations for Europe at this COP, and that is a real responsibility,” O’Brien said in a statement ahead of the summit.

“At a time when multilateral cooperation is under strain, it matters that countries turn up visibly and collaboratively, ready to work with all partners across society.”

COP stands for ‘Conference of the Parties’. The annual UN talks bring countries together to negotiate their response to climate change, including reducing emissions, funding climate action and helping communities cope with its effects.

This year’s gathering is the 31st conference under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Ireland’s role

Ireland will coordinate discussions between EU member states to establish the bloc’s position on decisions being negotiated, working alongside the European Commission and allocating responsibility for specific topics.

O’Brien and European climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra will be supported by a ministerial team drawn from across the EU.

Ireland and the Commission will lead work on the “cover decision”, the overarching agreement setting out the summit’s outcomes.

Denmark and Luxembourg will lead on mitigation, which concerns reducing emissions, while the Netherlands and Malta will take responsibility for adaptation, helping countries prepare for and respond to climate impacts.

Finland and Sweden will lead on finance, Portugal on a just transition for workers and communities, and Belgium and Austria on oceans.

“The EU sees COP31 as an opportunity to demonstrate that countries with very different circumstances and perspectives can continue to work together towards common objectives,” O’Brien said.

Ireland will also have its own pavilion at the conference for the first time, providing a base for meetings and events covering electrification, climate finance, decarbonisation and support for small island developing states.

The Irish delegation will include government departments, state agencies, environmental organisations and civil society representatives.

‘Climate records keep falling’

The summit opens alongside a warning from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) about rising temperatures, melting ice and record sea levels.

Its latest climate update this morning says the global average surface temperature between January and September was about 1.47C above the pre-industrial average.

The organisation expects that figure to rise before year-end as an intensifying El Niño adds to the warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions.

El Niño is a naturally occurring climate pattern that can raise global temperatures and alter weather conditions around the world.

Global sea levels have reached record highs, while 2026 is on track to be the tenth consecutive year of record ocean warmth, according to the WMO.

“We have entered a new age of climate extremes. A supersized El Niño is colliding with a planet already superheated by manmade climate change,” UN secretary-general António Guterres said.

“Climate records keep falling. The human costs keep rising. And those least responsible are suffering first and worst.”

WMO secretary-general Celeste Saulo warned that El Niño would act as a “risk multiplier”.

“El Niño doesn’t add new heat to the planet. It releases heat from the ocean, which is the warmest ever measured. There is simply more heat available to release,” she said.

Climate-vulnerable countries ‘pushed into debt’

ActionAid Ireland has called on countries attending the summit, including Ireland, to prioritise funding that helps vulnerable communities adapt to climate change.

Chief executive Karol Balfe said countries facing climate disasters were being pushed further into debt.

“Instead, climate-vulnerable countries are being pushed into debt by the escalating costs of disasters and are forced to spend the bulk of their public funds on repaying debt instead of investing in climate action.”

Teresa Anderson, ActionAid International’s global lead on climate justice, said: “COP31 needs to get serious about protecting the billions of people who are now at risk by putting real financing for adaptation at the centre of the climate conversation.”

She also called for protections for people whose livelihoods could be affected by the shift to a greener economy.

“No one should be forced to choose between a secure job and a safe planet,” Anderson said.

“The negotiations on the Just Transition Mechanism offer hope for the millions who might worry that climate policies will threaten their jobs or add to the cost of living.”