Leaders gather in Turkey for UN climate summit after a disastrous year of extreme weather

World leaders are convening in Antalya, Turkey, for the UN climate summit, COP31, to discuss ways to curb climate change. The last year has been marked by extreme weather events, including rising temperatures and devastating floods in Nepal. The war in Iran has also disrupted global oil and gas supplies, leading to price increases and prompting governments to consider energy policy changes.

Delegates meeting in Antalya face pressure to develop new climate action pledges, while implementing existing commitments. Turkish Environment Minister Murat Kurum, who presides over COP31, emphasized that the summit will not lower its ambition and will focus on turning previous climate promises into action. A central theme of the summit is electrification, with the goal of increasing electricity usage from renewables from 21% to 35% by 2035 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Negotiators are also expected to address the issue of providing financial assistance to poorer countries for adaptation to rising temperatures and extreme weather events, as well as transitioning away from fossil fuels. The last two summits, COP30 in Brazil and COP29 in Azerbaijan, faced criticism for not resulting in concrete agreements on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The U.S., the world's second-largest polluter, will once again be absent from the summit, having withdrawn from climate negotiations during President Donald Trump's two terms in office. Despite these challenges, U.N. Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell emphasized that every recent COP has made essential progress towards addressing climate change.