COP31: Too little progress in week one puts ministers under pressure to deliver

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November 15, 2026, 12:24 GMT

DanChurchAid urges ministers to break negotiating deadlocks and agree a balanced outcome on emissions cuts, adaptation, loss and damage, and finance.

Week one has left ministers with too much unfinished business. They now need to show that they can bridge differences and deliver an agreement that responds to the climate crisis”

— Mattias Söderberg, Global Climate Lead at DanChurchAid

ANTALYA, TURKEY, November 15, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- COP31 enters its second week with key political disagreements unresolved. Negotiations have yet to deliver the breakthroughs needed on emissions reductions and climate finance, putting pressure on arriving ministers to turn their political mandates into progress.

“Week one has left ministers with too much unfinished business. They now need to show that they can bridge differences and deliver an agreement that responds to the climate crisis,” says Mattias Söderberg, Global Climate Lead at DanChurchAid.

UNEP’s recent Limiting Overshoot report underlines the stakes: higher peak warming and a longer period above 1.5°C mean greater risks for people and nature. Faster emissions cuts must go hand in hand with stronger protection for communities already facing climate impacts.

“Ministers should negotiate with their children’s future in mind and with a thought for families already losing their homes and harvests. Every fraction of a degree they help prevent means less suffering,” says Söderberg.

DanChurchAid calls on ministers to accelerate a just transition away from fossil fuels, enable countries to implement adaptation plans, and strengthen support for unavoidable loss and damage. This requires credible climate finance, including a clear pathway to deliver the commitment to triple adaptation finance, with predictable and accessible finance for vulnerable communities.

“A promise to triple adaptation finance will not protect anyone until the money arrives. Wealthy countries must show how they will deliver—and make sure support reaches the people who need it,” says Söderberg.

Reaching agreement will require ministers to address countries’ different priorities together. DanChurchAid stresses that progress on mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, and finance must reinforce each other.

“Every minister needs a result to take home. A balanced agreement must cut emissions, protect people and finance action. Compromise must raise our collective ambition.”

Learn more about DanChurchAid COP31 engagement at https://www.danchurchaid.org/cop31-engagement

Mattias Sõderberg
DanChurchAid
+45 29 70 06 09
msd@dca.dk
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