Will this year’s UN climate change conference be different? Interview with EU Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra

by enr | 13.Nov 2026 | Press

On Tuesday, November 10, correspondents of the European Newsroom interviewed Hoekstra about his plans and priorities for the UN climate change conference COP31 and the EU’s own green ambitions, which continue to face resistance at home.

Wopke Hoekstra, EU Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth. Photo: Kay Nietfeld/dpa

The 31st UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya, Türkiye, is in full swing. Organisers said attention should be on implementation of existing climate finance pledges rather than pushing for more financial contributions.

In Brussels, however, the expectations are low. Climate negotiations had become more difficult due to the current “extremely complicated” geopolitical situation, the EU’s climate chief, Wopke Hoekstra, told the European Newsroom (enr) and other media in an interview this week.

“This COP needs to be about implementation, implementation and implementation,” Hoekstra said. On climate finance, he argued that COP31 should not reopen negotiations on new pledges but that further discussions should include burden-sharing by other countries with the capacity to contribute.

The EU itself has legally binding targets to cut net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 and 90% by 2040 compared with 1990 levels, and to reach climate neutrality by 2050.

Speaking about the rise of AI, Hoekstra said it brings potentially huge benefits but also significant disruption, and cited the emerging technology as one of the drivers behind growing electricity demand over the coming years.

Commissioner Hoekstra is set to attend the UN climate conference in Antalya next week to lead the EU’s negotiations.

The interview was conducted by journalists from European Newsroom partner agencies dpa, CTK, PAP, and APA.

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