To: EU Ministers for Environment and Climate
We are writing ahead of the Environment (ENVI) Council on 21 October 2025 in which Council conclusions on preparations for the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UNFCCC will be adopted.
As COP30 approaches, marking ten years since the Paris Agreement, the EU has a critical opportunity to protect the legacy of Paris and its own hard-won achievements, and lay a credible foundation for the next Global Stocktake. With climate impacts intensifying, widening inequities, and a grave ambition, finance, and implementation gap, we as CAN Europe want to take the opportunity to remind the EU that ambitious climate action is one of the strongest stabilising forces we have – essential to unlocking affordable energy, reliable food systems, as well as creating the conditions for peaceful societies, and healthy natural environments for generations to come.
Urgently address the collective shortfall in global climate action
The Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (July 2025) reaffirmed the legal imperative for governments to align their actions with the 1.5°C temperature goal and to prevent harm from fossil fuel production and consumption. The EU must align to this responsibility in its forthcoming nationally determined contribution (NDC), to be submitted well ahead of COP30.
The COP30 Leader’s segment must provide a political response to the grave collective ambition gap in the current set of NDCs that puts 1.5°C out-of-reach. With their overall significance in terms of economic, social and emission parameters, the EU and G20 countries have a particular responsibility to ensure humanity bends the emission curve quickly. An early COP30 agreement on the UAE–Belém work programme for Global Goal on Adaptation indicators could boost countries’ confidence and guidance to enhance NDC adaptation components, supported by increased adaptation finance.
COP30 must secure urgent measures to halt destruction of forests, wetlands, and other natural ecosystems by 2030. Actions must include fossil fuel phase-out, exclusion of large-scale forest biomass energy, ecosystem protection, and recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ rights. Outcomes should integrate sectoral action under the Global Stocktake and UAE Dialogue, and embed the benefits of ecosystem-based adaptation for social, health, and environmental outcomes. The Brazilian Presidency should establish joint Rio Convention mandates, and ensure its Action Agenda complements COP30 outcomes.
Deliver a global Just Transition Mechanism
COP30 must establish an International Mechanism for Just Transition to support holistic transition – shifting away from fossil fuels, transforming agro-food systems and industrial processes, and enabling equitable renewables deployment, and sufficiency in supply chains. This mechanism should operationalise equity, rights-based approaches, and CBDR-RC principles, enabling progress toward Paris goals. Just Transition must be recognised as a crucial enabler of ambition and implementation, to build resilience, equity, ecosystem restoration and sustainable development.
Transforming the Global Energy System
The EU must lead globally to triple renewable energy capacity, double energy efficiency, and equitably phase out fossil fuels, while ending fossil fuel subsidies by 2030. COP30 outcomes should prioritise universal access to clean, affordable, and reliable energy aligned with the SDGs, and support sectoral decarbonisation pathways for power, transport, and industry. Global methane reductions must be reduced by at least 75% by 2030. The EU must champion a global fossil fuel extraction phase-out roadmap with differentiated timelines based on equity and CBDR-RC principles, and scale up finance, technology, and capacity support for developing countries. The EU should ensure the energy transitions must not replicate extractive dynamics, and that mineral sourcing and trade partnerships respect human rights and Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).
Aligning Climate Finance with 1.5°C
The EU must deliver on its obligations under the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), scaling up new and additional public climate finance to reach at least USD 300 billion by 2035, prioritizing grants for adaptation and loss and damage. Member states should make new scaled-up pledges to the Adaptation Fund and Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage. The EU should support a CMA decision to address next steps to implement the NCQG and the “Baku to Belém Roadmap to 1.3T”, recognising the importance of grants and public finance for the $300 billion goal in particular and setting out quantified targets for mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage.
The EU should champion strengthening a process on Art. 2.1c of the Paris Agreement, guided by principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC), and aligning action with 1.5°Celsius and adaptation goals. Key objectives must be phasing out fossil fuel subsidies, regulating private finance, and shifting flows into climate resilient development, including through polluter pays taxes. The EU should also support international debt, tax, and fiscal reforms to unlock climate-resilient development in the Global South.
Protect civic spaces, gender equality and the integrity of climate governance
Effective climate action depends on human rights, public participation and civic space. COP30 must adopt measures that protect environmental defenders, secure access to information, and defend freedom of expression and assembly. Reformed Host Country Agreements should include binding human rights provisions, and the UNFCCC should create strong conflict-of-interest rules through an Accountability Framework. The People’s Summit in Belém should be recognised by the EU as a key process to shape an equitable COP30 outcome.
Gender equality must also be at the heart of climate governance. A strong and ambitious Gender Action Plan is needed at COP30 – one that is gender-transformative, intersectional and actionable- linked to NDCs, just transition, and adaptation plans. It should expand participation of women, Indigenous Peoples, youth and marginalised groups, protect Women and Environmental Human Rights Defenders, and sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Conclusion
COP30 is a critical moment for the EU to demonstrate commitment to the Paris Agreement and accountability. Ministers must ensure that COP30 sets a transformative agenda, delivering on climate ambition, energy transition, finance, Just Transition, ecosystem protection, human rights, and gender equality. CAN Europe and its members urge you toward an ambitious, equitable and science-aligned outcome in Belém.
Read the full letter here.
