Climate Conference: what can COP31 achieve?

COP31 has long been more than just a round of negotiations on temperature targets, explains Ieva Budraitė, leader of the Lithuanian Green Party, in LRT:

“The US is not sending an official delegation to COP31. This is significant not only because of its historical responsibility as one of the largest emitters of CO2. The American stance also influences international climate finance and the willingness of other countries to take on additional commitments. … China, on the other hand, which has become one of the world’s leading producers of clean energy technologies, is raising a different issue at COP31: trade restrictions. … The European Union, for its part, is seeking to safeguard the competitiveness of its industry and avoid a situation where emissions-intensive production processes in Europe are simply replaced by imports that are just as harmful to the climate.”