COP31: Protesters, UN urge swift climate deal

The United Nations' top climate official urged negotiators at the COP31 climate summit in Turkey to "avoid tactical delays" that would prevent a deal to stop global warming. Delegates from more than 200 nations are gathered in the Mediterranean city of Antalya with the core goal of preventing the planet from warming by 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit). Downtown, thousands of civil society and environmental activists from around the world protested against the consequences of climate change .

COP31: Can electrification replace fossil fuels? To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video What did the UN climate chief say? Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said getting an agreement is "tough but vital work." "There ​is no collective success without compromise from every party," he added. "As we head into the second week, ​I urge ‌parties to move swiftly to the hardest issues and to avoid tactical delays."

Unlike previous UN climate summits, expectations for COP31 are muted Image: Murad Sezer/REUTERS Climate protest draws activists from around the world Meanwhile, tens of thousands of protesters marched through Antalya on Saturday for climate protection and human rights, according to organizers. Many were dismayed at the lack of progress and how the climate crisis is taking a back seat. "The pursuit of profit at all costs continues to set the [global] agenda [and] govern the trajectory of our world, so there is a need to push back," environmental activist Zaki Mamdoo from South Africa told DW.

Luisa Nebauer, the main organizer of Germany's Fridays for Future movement, lamented that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was absent from the conference, along with several other European leaders. "We won't have a chance to solve any of the crises as long as our planet is destabilizing by the hour," Nebauer told DW. "We must show up!" Turkish authorities permitted the rally to go ahead, in a country that often bans large public gatherings.

Alongside the march, a parallel "People's Climate Summit" involving hundreds of domestic and international civil society groups takes place in Antalya this weekend. As Turkey hosts COP31 its beaches are becoming too hot for sea turtles To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Climate crisis pushed down agenda With inflation, wars, deindustrialization and debt being seen as bigger immediate threats, many governments are watering down their commitments to the clean energy transition, along with the billions required to help developing nations to adapt.

The United ⁠States has snubbed the talks ​for the second year in a row under President Donald Trump, who has called climate change a hoax and promoted continued use of fossil fuels. Delegates also face pressure from large fossil-fuel-producing nations to avoid setting stricter targets for a faster phaseout of oil and gas. The COP31 summit in Antalya, Turkey, runs until November 19 Image: Ozan Kose/AFP Climate advocates in Antalya are growing increasingly frustrated by the lack of commitment and delaying tactics preventing an ambitious deal.

COP31 is seeking to unlock finance and investment , reduce the use of so-called super-pollutants and methane and ensure food security. Turkey seeks electrification deal Host Turkey is, meanwhile, pushing a plan to expand global electrification. Yet, some environmental groups are disappointed the proposal doesn't push increased electricity use from renewable sources. A UN report last month warned that, within a few years, the world is set to exceed the 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming.

Prioritize 'People over polluters,' read one banner on Saturday's protest Image: Umit Bektas/REUTERS The figure, set at COP21 in 2015, is the threshold beyond which most scientists believe the world will see increasingly extreme effects of climate change. A first draft of a deal text is expected to emerge next week, according to Australia's ​COP31 President of Negotiations Chris Bowen.