UN Climate Chief Calls for New Approach as COP31 Opens in Turkey

Actually, everything is already in place to reverse the trend in greenhouse gas emissions, the UN says. The world's countries agreed in 2015 in Paris to limit global warming to preferably below 1.5 degrees, in 2021 in Glasgow to "phase down" carbon, in 2023 in Dubai to move away from fossil fuels, and last year in Belém to triple funding for climate adaptation.

"Full speed ahead for the solutions"

For just under two weeks, up to 100,000 people - from world leaders to activists - will gather in Antalya, Turkey, to continue to push the issue at the largest UN meeting on the calendar.

"In this era of implementation, at COP31, we are doing things differently," says Simon Stiell in his opening speech.

"COP31 must give full momentum to the solutions. To break down existing global goals and national plans into concrete steps," says Stiell.

Sweden's climate minister, Romina Pourmokhtari (L), highlights electrification as a potential talking point at the meeting.

I think it could be a way forward for many countries that do not want to discuss phasing out fossil fuels but may still be open to discussing a phase-in of clean energy, she tells TT.

Nepal and the African Group have demanded that climate financing be included on the agenda, which could delay the start of the meeting, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

It has already been a difficult start for COP31, Jasper Inventor, head of the Greenpeace delegation, tells AFP.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) will release an update on the climate situation as the meeting begins. 2026 will be one of the four warmest years on record, with the average temperature through September 1.47 degrees above the pre-industrial average.

“A new era”

This year, climate change is also fueling the El Niño climate phenomenon, which is feared to cause extreme weather across large areas.

“We have entered a new era of climate extremes. A giant El Niño is colliding with a planet already overheated by human-caused climate change,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement to COP31 participants:

“Leaders must take this seriously by reducing emissions faster, accelerating a just transition away from fossil fuels, and delivering the financing and protection that vulnerable countries need.”