Delegates from nearly 200 countries gather in Antalya as the summit seeks to bridge the gap between climate commitments and real-world action amid rising temperatures and economic pressures….reports Asian Lite News Desk
The 31st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) opened in Turkey’s Antalya on Monday, with delegates urged to turn climate commitments into concrete action as the world grapples with rising temperatures, economic uncertainty and growing geopolitical tensions.
Opening the two-week summit, COP31 President Murat Kurum called for the conference to become an “implementation COP”, focused on bridging the gap between promises made at international negotiations and tangible improvements in people’s lives.
Addressing delegates from nearly 200 countries, Kurum said climate change could no longer be viewed separately from other global challenges, warning that interconnected crises were making the situation increasingly difficult for countries and communities.
Conflict, geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty, mounting debt, food insecurity, rapid technological changes and unequal access to finance and technology were unfolding alongside rising temperatures and increasingly frequent climate disasters, he said.
Climate impacts were also crossing national borders and affecting multiple sectors, including food production, supply chains, economies, migration, urban development and public health.
“A drought in one part of the world is felt at the dinner table in another,” Kurum said, stressing the need for coordinated international action.
He pledged that the Turkish Presidency would work to bridge geopolitical and economic differences, adding that Turkey was ready to use its position as a bridge between countries to facilitate cooperation.
Reaffirming the Paris Agreement’s target of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, Kurum said the goal remained the guiding benchmark for international climate action.
“We will be frank about what the science tells us,” he said.
Climate finance and clean energy take centre stage
The World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) State of the Climate Update 2026, released on the opening day of COP31, showed that the past 12 years had individually been the warmest on record, with the four most recent years occupying the top four positions.
Meanwhile, the Belém Mission to 1.5 report, released ahead of the summit by the COP Presidencies of Turkey, Australia, Brazil and Azerbaijan, outlined opportunities, challenges and practical solutions to keep the 1.5-degree target within reach while strengthening climate adaptation and resilience.
The COP31 Presidency aims to ensure that decisions taken at the summit deliver visible results beyond negotiating rooms, including more resilient urban infrastructure, productive farmland, cleaner industrial production and lower household energy costs.
Kurum also highlighted the importance of electrification in the global energy transition, pointing to Turkey’s “35-by-35” Global Electrification Pledge, which aims to raise electricity’s share of final energy consumption to 35 per cent by 2035.
He said renewable energy, stronger electricity grids, energy storage, energy efficiency, clean transport and green industry would play complementary roles in driving the transition.
The Presidency wants climate commitments to translate into improvements in everyday life, including energy-efficient buildings, cleaner public transport, affordable electricity and new employment opportunities.
On climate finance, Kurum recalled the goal agreed in Baku to provide at least $300 billion annually to developing countries by 2035, alongside a broader call to scale up climate finance from all sources to at least $1.3 trillion annually.
“Now our promises must be backed by capital. That capital must fund investment. And that investment must deliver results,” he said.
COP31 President of Negotiations Chris Bowen said the summit offered an opportunity to demonstrate the benefits of international cooperation at a critical time for climate action and global energy security.
He said the discussions would focus on unlocking finance and investment, accelerating electrification and strengthening action on oceans, which play a crucial role in regulating the global climate.
Bowen added that COP31 must help close the gap between commitments and implementation, with an emphasis on practical outcomes such as infrastructure, jobs, energy security and resilient communities.
UN warns of rising economic costs of climate change
UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell, in his opening address, highlighted the growing economic and social costs of global warming and extreme weather events.
He warned that rising fossil fuel costs had triggered a global economic shock, placing additional pressure on households and driving inflation.
“This year’s fossil fuel cost chaos has delivered a global shockwave, hitting households hard and spreading inflation like a cancer,” Stiell said.
However, he pointed to the economic benefits of clean energy, noting that global renewable energy had saved $265 billion in the first half of the year alone.
Stiell also stressed that climate adaptation offered proven returns on investment, arguing that limiting global warming and protecting vulnerable communities were in the interests of every country and economy.
