The fifth Copenhagen Climate Ministerial takes place on 20-21 May 2026. Following the Petersberg Climate Dialogue and the Santa Marta Conference on transitioning away from fossil fuels, both held last month, this is the third major climate ministerial meeting of 2026 and a key moment ahead of the Intersessional Meetings in Bonn for the Presidency and Parties to outline their priorities.
- The meeting is an opportunity to come together to build momentum toward COP31 and for the Presidency countries, Türkiye and Australia, to set out their COP31 vision and clear expectations on what November’s climate summit must achieve. Ministers need to use this meeting to build momentum for the road ahead by exploring ways to strengthen international cooperation on climate action as a strategic response to geopolitical and economic volatility.
- This includes making progress on accelerating implementation of both mitigation and adaptation measures, taking into account views from the private sector on what is needed to support faster delivery of action.
- In the context of both the global energy crisis and rising climate impacts, the Ministerial is a key opportunity for the Presidency, and attending Ministers, to place clean energy transition progress and adaptation at the core of COP31 priorities as a route to global resilience, prosperity and cooperation. Such signals would build on the political direction from Petersberg and Santa Marta on the climate and economic imperatives of boosting electrification and clean power and advancing global cooperation to end fossil fuel dependence.
Story
The Copenhagen Climate Ministerial is expected to bring together ministers and other participating senior officials to set the direction for the climate negotiations during the June Climate Meetings (SB64) in Bonn Germany and at COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye in November. In its fifth year, the Ministerial will be hosted by the Danish Minister of Climate, Energy, and Utilities, Lars Aagaard, together with COP 30 President André Corrêa do Lago and COP31 President-Designate Murat Kurum.
The meeting includes sessions on accelerating implementation of the Paris Agreement’s nationally-determined climate plans, driving greater climate resilience and enhancing adaptation, and the future of the international climate regime, along with a roundtable discussion between ministers and corporate leaders on ways to unleash greater climate action in the private sector. The Brazilian COP30 presidency will also present progress updates on its roadmaps on transitioning away from fossil fuels, halting and reversing deforestation and forest degradation, and scaling up climate finance for developing countries to $1.3 trillion by 2035.
Ahead of Bonn, the closed-door discussions in Copenhagen provide an excellent opportunity for ministers to demonstrate how their countries are responding to the mounting climate crisis by positioning their national climate plans as drivers of long-term development, crafting just and equitable energy transition pathways, working together to mobilise greater sums of climate finance both for mitigation and scaled-up adaptation and resilience, and drawing on the best available science and technological advice on ways to accelerate progress towards achievement of the Paris Agreement’s temperature limitation goals.
Quotes
Kaysie Brown, Associate Director – Climate Diplomacy and Geopolitics, E3G, said:
“The Copenhagen Climate Ministerial comes at a moment when climate action is being tested by geopolitical fragmentation, economic pressure, and rising climate impacts. It must be more than another diplomatic checkpoint — it is an opportunity for ministers to come together and discuss, debate, and forge a clearer collective vision for the road to COP31: accelerating the clean energy transition, mobilizing finance in a far more difficult global environment, and strengthening resilience in the face of growing instability. Copenhagen will be an early test of whether governments are prepared to turn political rhetoric into real strategic alignment and practical action that is necessary to address the real world impacts, and opportunities, that are before us.”
Cosima Cassel, Programme Lead – Climate Diplomacy and Geopolitics, E3G, said:
“The climate crisis is accelerating faster than the current climate regime’s ability to respond. To remain credible and effective, the regime must evolve from a system centred on negotiation to one focused on delivering implementation at speed and scale. The Copenhagen Ministerial is a key opportunity to drive that shift. Ministers should use the moment to forge a shared political vision ahead of the UNFCCC sessions in Bonn and COP31 on how the regime can better mobilise delivery across the real economy. That includes elevating the Action Agenda as a bridge between negotiated outcomes and implementation.”
Natasha Green, Country Lead – Australia, E3G said:
“The recent fuel crisis linked to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz has reinforced the urgent need for countries to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels and build more resilient, secure energy systems. The Copenhagen Ministerial presents an important opportunity for Australia and Türkiye to work with parties ahead of COP31 to help countries navigate growing geopolitical and climate-related insecurities, mobilise the finance needed to accelerate regional decarbonisation, and ensure the priorities of the Pacific remain at the centre of constructive international dialogue and delivery.”
Alden Meyer, Senior Associate – Climate Diplomacy and Geopolitics, E3G, said:
“With Arctic winter sea ice hitting record lows, the world experiencing its highest burned area ever for the first four months of the year, and temperature records being broken across the planet, the urgent need to scale up climate action is blindingly clear. Ministers in Copenhagen next week should demonstrate their determination to respond to the mounting climate crisis with the bold leadership and strengthened collaboration the world so desperately needs and their citizens deserve.”
Lily Hartzell, Senior Policy Advisor – Public Banks & Development, E3G said:
“The Copenhagen Climate Ministerial provides an important opportunity for governments to get serious about the private finance mobilisation required to achieve the $1.3 trillion goal. But it is equally important to ensure that Parties come to Bonn ready to discuss how to galvanize progress on the other action areas in the Baku to Belem Roadmap, including the major increase in public finance – particularly for resilience – that is required.”
Jordan Dilworth, Policy Advisor – Climate Diplomacy and Geopolitics, E3G said:
“Against a backdrop of shifting geopolitical dynamics that Denmark, like many countries, has experienced this year, the Copenhagen Climate Ministerial provides governments a space behind closed doors to agree on common strategies for sending a clear positive signal at the first UNFCCC negotiations of the year. While countries must demonstrate their commitment to multilateralism, Bonn needs to see a move from ambition to implementation and that the negotiations can credibly address the geopolitical challenges the world is facing.”
Available for comment
Kaysie Brown (EN), E3G Associate Director, (multilateral climate diplomacy, geopolitics, US foreign policy) kaysie.brown@e3g.org
Cosima Cassel (EN, DE, ES), E3G Programme Lead, (multilateral climate diplomacy, UNFCCC) cosima.cassel@e3g.org
Natasha Green (EN), E3G Country Lead – Australia (COP31, Australian policy and politics, multilateral climate diplomacy, international energy transition) natasha.green@e3g.org
Alden Meyer (EN), E3G Senior Associate, (UNFCCC and G7/G20 dynamics, multilateral climate and clean energy diplomacy, mitigation ambition, US policy and politics) alden.meyer@e3g.org
Lily Hartzell (EN), E3G Senior Policy Advisor (UNFCCC, international climate finance, MDB reform), lily.hartzell@e3g.org
Jordan Dilworth (EN), E3G Policy Advisor (UNFCCC, trade, UK climate diplomacy) jordan.dilworth@e3g.org
For further enquiries, email press@e3g.org or phone +44 (0)7783 787 863
