November was a decisive month for the EU’s climate and energy agenda. With COP30 opening on 10 November, the EU entered the month still carrying a substantial amount of unfinished business. Chief among the pending tasks were its 2040 climate target and its updated Nationally Determined Contribution, effectively, the bloc’s 2035 goal, which was expected to be showcased at the summit.
Against this backdrop, environment ministers met on 5 November for what became an all-night negotiation. They eventually agreed on a common position for the 2040 target, yet the initial ambition of a 90% emissions cut slipped away in the process. A series of concessions, including wider use of international offsets and the addition of an “emergency brake”, significantly watered down the proposal. A week later the European Parliament endorsed the Council’s approach.
By then national ministers and Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra had shifted their focus to Belém, where efforts centred on securing a global roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels. Those negotiations stalled as the EU declined to commit additional funding for climate adaptation in vulnerable countries; a stance that ultimately produced unsatisfactory outcomes on both fronts.
At the same time, the EU showed two different faces on deforestation. While supporting the Tropical Forest Forever Facility at COP30, a new financing tool designed to protect forests worldwide, it was simultaneously rolling back one of its most significant forest-protection achievements at home: the EU Deforestation Regulation.