By Kate Abnett

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union countries are struggling to agree their negotiating position for the COP26 climate change conference, with rifts emerging over timeframes for emissions-cutting pledges, according to officials and documents seen by Reuters.

The EU is preparing its position in advance of November’s COP26 negotiations, when countries will try to finalize the technical rules that would allow the Paris Agreement to take effect.

They will attempt to resolve the question of whether climate targets for countries under the 2015 agreement should be set within a common timeframe.

As a warning sign of possible clashes ahead at COP26 (where nearly 200 countries will be negotiating the issue), 27 EU member states have split on whether their targets should span five years or ten years.

EU’s emission-cutting goals are some of the most ambitious among world’s largest economies. The bloc wants to inspire other regions to achieve even higher targets.

However, all 27 EU member countries must agree to the EU’s COP26 negotiating positions. Diplomats worry that the bloc may not present a cohesive front.

If we don’t have the Paris Agreement-compliant time frames, what signal will the EU be sending the rest of the world? A diplomat of the EU from a country supporting a 5-year deadline said.

AMBITIOUS TARGETS

A country’s climate pledge is known as its nationally determined contribution, or NDC.

According to EU officials who have been present at the negotiations, the majority of EU nations, such as France, Spain, Luxembourg, Denmark and Spain support a 5-year timeline for these pledges.

According to EU officials familiar with the talks, shorter 5-year cycles would increase pressure on nations to establish ambitious goals and allow them to track whether their emissions are being reduced fast enough to avoid catastrophic climate change.

A 10-year-term pledge could allow weaker countries to remain under radar for the entire decade, they fear.

EU officials stated that the EU has other EU members, like Romania, Bulgaria, Poland and Bulgaria, which want to offer countries the option of either 5 or 10 year terms.

One diplomat supporting either a five- or 10-year timeframe said, “The NDCs’ content and will to be implemented by the parties proves ambition.”

Reuters saw a document from the EU that proposed its position on the COP26 negotiations. It stated the bloc would prefer a 5-year timeline. On Friday, officials of the EU will address this issue.

The document stated that the United States and African countries, as well as small islands states, support climate promises over five years. India and China, however, oppose a one-year timeframe.

It would not change the legally binding EU targets of reducing emissions by 2030 or 2050 by setting a Paris Agreement promise every five year. Brussels also will set an 2040 emission-cutting goal.

The EU document stated that the EU might submit to the U.N. a 2035 climate promise. This would represent “our best estimation” of its greenhouse gas emissions for that year to keep on track to its 2040 target.