EU and South Korea to Hold Green Transition Forum in Seoul Ahead of COP31

The European Union and South Korea will convene a high-level EU–Korea green transition forum in Seoul on 20 October 2026, weeks before the COP31 climate summit opens in Antalya, Türkiye. The forum, announced on 2 October, is co-organised by the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Korea and the Center for Global Climate and Marine Governance of Korea University, and will be held as part of EU Green Diplomacy Week 2026.

KEY FACTS

• What: EU–Korea High-level Green Transition and Climate Forum
• When: 20 October 2026
• Where: Seoul, Republic of Korea
• Organisers: EU Delegation to Korea and Korea University’s Center for Global Climate and Marine Governance
• Context: Ahead of COP31 (9–20 November 2026, Antalya, Türkiye)
• Focus: Moving away from fossil fuels while protecting industrial competitiveness; the COP31 global electrification initiative

The forum will examine how the EU and South Korea can accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels while safeguarding industrial competitiveness — one of the central political tensions in global climate policy. Sessions will take up the priorities identified in the first Global Stocktake and the COP31 global electrification initiative, backing the Paris Agreement goals of limiting warming to 1.5°C and reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.

EU–Korea green transition forum: the COP31 electrification initiative on the agenda

A core discussion point will be the COP31 Presidency’s flagship “35 by 35” electrification pledge. Launched by the incoming Turkish presidency during Climate Week NYC in September, the initiative aims to raise electricity’s share of final global energy consumption to 35% by 2035 — up from slightly more than 20% today — by electrifying transport, buildings and industry.

An International Energy Agency foundational report released alongside the launch confirmed the 35% benchmark is within “striking distance” using existing technologies, according to coverage of the announcement. The IEA’s World Energy Investment 2026 report projects total global energy investment of $3.4 trillion in 2026, with about $2.2 trillion flowing into renewables, nuclear, grids, storage and electrification — and electricity-related investment now accounting for nearly 60% of all energy investment.

Seoul at dusk: South Korea will host the EU–Korea green transition forum on 20 October, weeks before COP31 opens in Antalya. Photo: Watan News

Industrial competitiveness meets climate ambition

The programme brings together senior officials and experts, including H.E. Ugo Astuto, EU Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, and Caroline Edery, Deputy Director for International Affairs and Climate Finance at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Climate Action (DG CLIMA). Representatives from South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, alongside academia, industry and civil society, will also take part.

Sessions will cover green transition opportunities in the EU and Korea, energy security, industrial competitiveness, and the implementation of decarbonisation and electrification policies. The programme concludes with a Green Transition Roundtable on the clean energy transition, electrification and energy efficiency, followed by an audience Q&A.

Diplomacy ahead of Antalya

Holding the forum under EU Green Diplomacy Week places it firmly in the pre-COP31 diplomatic calendar, alongside events such as the Pre-COP ministerial meeting in Fiji from 5 to 8 October. It signals how major economies are using bilateral platforms to align positions before the Antalya negotiations, where scaling climate finance and operationalising the new collective quantified goal on climate finance (NCQG) agreed at COP29 will be on the table.

Read the same story on our main site, watannews.dk in English, and explore our Climate coverage, and follow the COP31 preparations on the official UNFCCC COP31 page.