The two-week UN climate summit COP31 opens on Monday, 9 November, in the Mediterranean city of Antalya, Turkey, with delegates from about 200 countries among the more than 100,000 people expected. Geopolitical tension and disputes over climate finance and fossil fuels leave little hope of a major advance, Dhaka Tribune reports, citing AFP.
The summit follows severe floods in Nepal, intense heatwaves in Europe and major wildfires in Indonesia. The energy crisis caused by war in the Middle East and the rising cost of living may also weigh on it. Rich countries under financial pressure are reluctant to give developing countries more money.
El Nino is forecast to peak late this year, and 2026 or 2027 may prove the hottest year on record. The UN warned in September that global warming is on course to pass the 1.5 degree Celsius limit.
Turkey holds the presidency, but under a special arrangement Australia is leading the negotiations, a deal struck to end a dispute over where the summit would be held. Australia's climate minister Chris Bowen said consensus among about 200 countries would not be easy, but that there was no alternative to cooperation.
COP31 president and Turkish environment minister Murat Kurum said the summit would try to turn past pledges into real results. Turkey is also presenting a voluntary action agenda. A main initiative is electrification: electricity meets about 20 percent of world energy demand today, and Turkey wants that at 35 percent by 2035.
The European Union is stressing clean electrification, which could reopen the argument over the role of fossil fuels. COP28 in 2023 agreed to move away from them, but how to do so remains unsettled. Objections from oil producers kept any clear mention out of last year's COP30 agreement, and Brazil drew up a voluntary road map instead.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
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