EU Rules Out New Climate Finance Pledges at COP31

The European Union will not be making new climate finance commitments at the upcoming COP31 conference, climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said, as quoted by Bloomberg today, describing the possibility of further financial commitments for emission reduction as “dead in the water”. The European Union has been the most generous climate finance provider globally for several years, but money has been tight lately, with other developments stealing the spotlight from emissions of carbon dioxide.

With soaring fuel prices, equally soaring gas prices and a shortage of refining capacity, the EU’s most pressing problems have ironically swung to hydrocarbons—and solving them also requires heavy spending in the form of direct subsidies and tax cuts to cushion the blow.