COP31 opened on November 9 in Antalya, Turkey, where world leaders, including Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, gathered to set their climate priorities. The summit takes place as global warming enters an unsafe zone, with leaders warning that international efforts to combat climate change are falling behind amid increasingly alarming signals about the pace of warming.
United Nations Secretary General António Guterres urged nations to respond to their failure to rein in global warming by committing to further climate action. Guterres stated that fossil fuels must go the way of the dinosaurs, though he noted this would not happen on its own. He further accused the fossil fuel lobby of delaying action, speaking at the meeting amid a sharp drop in attendance by world leaders.
Negotiators from nearly 200 countries are seeking a plan to increase the share of electricity in global energy use. Host country Turkey has been pushing for this expansion of electrification to be at the center of a deal, although critics suggest it may do little to curb warming.
The urgency of the talks was underscored by small island states, among the world's most vulnerable, who pleaded for urgent cuts to greenhouse gas emissions as rising sea levels continue to threaten their territories.