COP31 climate summit opens in Türkiye amid calls for stronger action

The UN climate summit COP31 opens Monday in Türkiye's Mediterranean city of Antalya, with governments under growing pressure to turn climate pledges into concrete action and bolster support for vulnerable countries. The Nov. 9-20 conference brings together world leaders, ministers, negotiators, scientists and civil society representatives to discuss emissions reductions, climate adaptation and financing. Türkiye holds the conference presidency, while Australian Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen will lead negotiations.

A World Leaders' Summit is scheduled for Nov. 11-12. Held under the theme "COP of the Future – COP of Implementation," the summit aims to translate climate commitments into measurable results. The presidency's Action Agenda prioritizes clean energy transition and electrification, zero waste and methane reduction, climate-resilient cities, green industrialization, food security and protection of oceans and seas. Other priorities include youth and education, resilient health systems and cooperation on climate change, biodiversity and land degradation.

Proposed targets for 2035 include raising electricity's share of global final energy consumption to 35%, cutting energy use intensity in buildings by at least 25% and increasing the global circular material use rate to at least 15%. Negotiators remain divided over financing for developing countries and efforts to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels, following COP30's failure to agree on a roadmap. The UN Environment Programme's 2026 Emissions Gap Report projects global warming of around 2.6C this century even if countries fully implement their climate pledges, well above the Paris Agreement's temperature goals.

The report also estimates that developing countries will need around $305 billion annually for climate adaptation by 2035, compared with international public adaptation finance of $28.2 billion to $31.7 billion in 2024. The summit follows a year marked by devastating floods, deadly heat waves and prolonged droughts, intensifying calls for faster emissions cuts and greater financial support.