UN climate summit kicks off in Turkey after a disastrous year of extreme weather
World leaders, delegates and climate activists are in Antalya, Turkey, for a U.N. climate summit
ANTALYA, Turkey -- World leaders, delegates and climate activists on Monday kicked off talks in Turkey on curbing climate change, which in the last year has led to rising temperatures and deadly heat waves in Europe and beyond, and played a role in disasters such as the devastating floods in Nepal.
This U.N. climate summit — called the Conference of the Parties, or COP31 — comes as the war in Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, hiking global prices of gasoline, oil and products made with them, such as fertilizers and pesticides. The disruption has pushed governments to rethink energy policies and increased investment in renewable energy sources like wind and solar.
“COP31 must supercharge solutions,” U.N. climate chief Simon Stiell said at the opening session. An estimated 68,500 people are to attend the two-week event and nearly 25,000 people will help ensure the conference goes smoothly.
Stiell said that agreeing on practical solutions, such as reducing methane emissions, can be “planetary icepacks” that can help reduce global heating. Methane stays in the atmosphere for a shorter time but warms the planet much faster than other planet-heating gases. Using renewable-powered electricity instead of oil, gas and coal can also help reduce global warming.
Delegates, meeting in the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya, will come under pressure to develop new pledges for climate action while implementing previous promises. The stakes are high: Climate scientists say global warming is likely to exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above the preindustrial levels of the early 1800s.
Limiting temperature rise to that threshold was a goal established during the 2015 Paris Agreement. Since then, it's been a focus of international climate negotiations.
The fact that the goal is no longer realistic underscores how difficult it's been for the world to cut greenhouse gas emissions, which are released into the atmosphere when fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal are burned, leading to climate change.
“This is the first COP where it is clear beyond a reasonable doubt that the world will overshoot the 1.5-degree target,” said Turkish Environment Minister Murat Kurum. “We will not look away, and we will not lower our ambition.”
Kurum, the COP31 president, has said that rather than establishing new targets, he wants the summit to focus on turning previous climate commitments into action.
He has announced an “Action Agenda” that includes reducing methane emissions and building climate-resilient cities. There is also the aim of increasing the use of electricity — preferably from renewable energy such as solar and wind — from 21% to 35% by 2035, to reduce greenhouse emissions.
“Success begins when our decisions reach that last mile,” said Kurum. “If we are to share a future, we must share the responsibility for it.”
Delegates are also expected to discuss at the Nov. 9-20 summit how to help poorer countries pay to adapt to rising temperatures and extreme weather events, both tied to climate change, and transition away from fossil fuels.
Even as leaders delivered speeches talking about ambition and implementation, negotiators from nearly 200 countries were already wrangling in the backrooms about disagreements over funds for climate adaptation and recovery from climate disasters and other long-pending bottlenecks.
“Countries that did the least to cause this crisis shouldn’t have to borrow their way through it,” said Meena Raman from the Malaysia-based climate advocacy group Third World Network.
At the center of the disagreements are developing countries, which seek more discussions on financing for the goals agreed on at the 2015 Paris climate talks.
“After years of disappointment, developing countries want to know clearly how rich countries plan to provide the funds needed to tackle climate change,” said Iskander Erzini Vernoit, a veteran of many climate talks and advisor to African negotiators at this year’s talks.
“Agenda proposals from the 54-country African Group were backed by many developing countries but contested by rich countries from the European Union and Canada,” he said.
The last two summits, COP30 in Brazil and COP29 in Azerbaijan, came under criticism for ending with little agreement on how to reduce greenhouse emissions. The final texts of those conferences didn't even mention fuels. At COP28 in Dubai, delegates had agreed to transition away from fossil fuels.
The United States — the world’s second-largest polluter after China — is again absent from the summit.
During his first term, and again when he took office for a second time in January 2025, President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from climate negotiations.
“No single COP is a silver bullet that can stop climate change overnight,” said Stiell, the climate chief. “But every recent COP has made essential progress. COP31 in Antalya will, too.”
In a change from previous summits, Turkey and Australia are jointly holding this summit after the two jostled over which would be the host. As a compromise, Turkey is the official host while Australia is leading the negotiations. Both countries have come under criticism for their strong reliance on coal.
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Arasu reported from Bengaluru, India.
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