INTERVIEW: Ireland says EU has to agree COP31 climate stance ‘much sooner’ than last year

Ireland will take over the EU’s rotating Council presidency in July, meaning O’Brien will steer EU governments’ talks on the bloc’s negotiating mandate for the world’s top climate change conference due to take place in November.

In 2025, the EU agreed its priorities in October, but gave the green light to its crucial 2035 international climate commitments only days before the beginning of the summit.

This was due to major disagreements over the bloc’s domestic 2040 emission reduction goal, but it risked weakening the bloc’s negotiating strength internationally, especially as Brussels strives to be seen as a global leader in the fight against climate change.

Further CO2 goal updates won’t be needed this year, but the EU “should work closer and faster together to have an agreed position that we can talk [about] to colleagues across the world,” O’Brien said during the interview.

Partnerships v. hierarchy

In O’Brien’s view, petro-states are “pitting” the EU against developing countries, but Europe should reset these ties to show that it is as a “positive partner”.

“We’re a small country that understands what it has been like historically to have had difficulties with larger neighbours and to have had their resources exploited over time,” the Irish politician said. “I think we can act as an honest, respected voice in the room.”

He also argued that climate finance resources should be “more accessible to states that are really feeling climate change … right now, and who need that assistance”.

Energy markets

But the Irish minister’s priorities aren’t limited to COP31. O’Brien made clear that slashing energy prices and upgrading Europe’s power lines are also at the top of his mind.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s has recently announced that the EU executive will give the rules that set electricity prices in the bloc a fitness-check, and will provide “options and findings” to EU leaders on whether it’s time to reform them.

O’Brien said he wants to assess the proposals first. He appeared welcoming of von der Leyen’s move even if he did not specifically target the EU power pricing rules.

He instead said that work is needed on the ‘spark gap’, meaning the price difference between electricity and fossil gas energy units, and mentioned an Irish initiative to cut energy bills by reducing taxes.

From his viewpoint, even where renewables are being deployed at pace, EU citizens’ aren’t seeing the price benefit just yet.

“That will happen in time, but where the European Union can help to drive affordability through potential changes to the energy markets and the regulatory framework, I think that absolutely should be looked at and I’ve been calling for that,” he said.

Irreversible path

The Irish presidency will prioritise implementing the EU Grids Package, a set of plans and reforms aimed at strengthening Europe’s strained power lines and cross-border interconnections.

This could help distribute energy more efficiently, allow more renewables to come online, and avoid plants being shut down when the existing grid is overcharged.

“Every state has an issue with regard to grid and the grid urgently requires an upgrade,” O’Brien said.

The expansion and improvement of grid resilience is “critically important because … this electrification journey is not going to stop,” he said.

What could change on this “irreversible” path is only how quickly Europe will go electric.

(aw, jp)