Cypriot MEPs Giorgos Georgiou and Costas Mavrides have accused Turkey of attempting to obstruct the participation of the Republic of Cyprus in the COP31 United Nations Climate Change Conference, which is due to take place in Antalya.
The issue was raised during a debate in the European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg on the upcoming climate summit.
Claims of exclusion
AKEL MEP Giorgos Georgiou, speaking on behalf of The Left Group, said the climate crisis is already being felt through wildfires, heatwaves, drought and destructive flooding, with citizens bearing the cost.
Ahead of COP31, he called for "actions rather than new promises", arguing that tackling climate change also involves social justice, equality and preventing exclusion.
Georgiou accused Turkey of attempting to prevent Cyprus' participation in the conference and of using the event to promote the breakaway entity in the occupied areas of the island.
He also referred to the Turkey-Libya maritime memorandum and criticised the EU's stance towards Ankara, questioning whether European institutions would continue to adopt what he described as a "Pontius Pilate" approach.
DIKO MEP Costas Mavrides, a member of the Socialists and Democrats Group (S&D), said that climate change is "a fact, not an ideology".
He noted that its effects are particularly severe in the Mediterranean and require international cooperation.
Mavrides welcomed calls for specific and measurable targets to bridge the gap between climate commitments and implementation, while also alleging that Ankara attempted to instrumentalise the conference against the Republic of Cyprus by seeking to exclude President Nikos Christodoulides.
He urged both the Council of the European Union and European Commissioner for Climate Action Wopke Hoekstra to defend the Republic of Cyprus "to the very end" as a member state of both the EU and the UN.
Irish Presidency responds
Responding to the interventions, Timmy Dooley, representing the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, said Turkey had sent invitations to all EU member states, including Cyprus.
Focus on climate commitments
Opening the debate, Lídia Pereira, the Portuguese MEP from the European People's Party (EPP) and head of the European Parliament's 15-member delegation to COP31, said the conference should focus on implementing existing commitments rather than making new pledges.
She argued that the green transition must combine emissions reductions with economic growth, competitiveness, job creation and affordable energy through investment in clean technologies and renewable energy sources.
Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra agreed that COP31 should be an "implementation conference", warning that the results of global climate action remain insufficient.
He highlighted the need to accelerate electrification, expand different sources of clean energy and increase climate adaptation financing, particularly for developing countries.
Dooley added that the EU remains committed to implementing the Paris Agreement, with the goal of keeping global temperature increases as close as possible to 1.5°C.
He said priorities include faster emissions reductions, the transition away from fossil fuels and the expansion of renewable energy, noting that clean energy also strengthens energy security and reduces dependence on external suppliers.
COP31 will take place in Antalya, Turkey, from 9 to 20 November.
Source: CNA
